“History is written by the winners.” But is it really? Not in all sports, apparently. You may remember the last time your local sports team won a competition or when your favourite athlete broke a record. But do you know who was the First African American Female Olympic Gold Medallist? Or the first Female Woman to join the Harlem Globetrotters? Chances are, maybe not. When we think of people who “made” history, and in the case of this article of the Black women who made it, we see that, most often than not, some names and stories are unfamiliar to the general public.
Nonetheless, their impact should not be disregarded that easily. Their accomplishments, in relation to their social context’s hardships, profoundly altered how women, especially women of colour, can practice these sports nowadays. In short, unknowingly or not, they opened the door to new possibilities and created new landmarks for change. This article will try to (re)trace the path of two black women, Alice Coachman and Wilma Rudolph, famous in high jump and track-and-field. The intent is not to give a detailed account of their lives but highlight how just practising their sports impacted an entirely new generation of athletes and still motivate young people to follow their path.
Alice Coachman: The First African American Female Olympic Gold Medallist
At first glance, nothing predestined young Alice to become a successful athlete. At home, she grew up in a low-income family with parents who were not too keen on seeing her pursue a career in sports, especially as a girl. Outside, she grew up in a deeply-rooted segregationist USA, where Black people could not use the field tracks, leaving her no choice but to practice with what was at her disposal. But that did not stop Coachman from pursuing her goals.
“Papa said no, but I said yes. And that’s what I did, I went on anyway”
Her stubbornness and sense of competition are the most striking traits of her personality when searching for who Alice Coachman is. She did not let anyone or anything come in between what she wanted to do. Therefore, when World War II destroyed any chance left for Alice to participate in the Olympic Games of 1940 and later in 1944, she was still practising and breaking records. Her Olympic success in 1948 is ultimately the result of years of effort and perseverance.
She received her medal from King George VI, but at home the mayor refused to shake her hand.
Unfortunately, no Olympic title changed what living in the deep segregated South meant. Indeed, in her hometown of Albany, Georgia, like in many other cities in the United States during that time, Blacks were segregated. It was a celebration for her achievement, but she was in front of a divided room with Blacks on one side, Whites on the other. She even had to leave through a side door, the mayor refusing to shake her hand. Recalling this memory in an interview led for a documentary on Black Champions, she states “, it wasn’t a good feeling. But it had to be done. That’s the way it was. ”
“One of my co-workers said nobody looks at a second place they look at a winner, if you are not number one they don’t see you”
Alice died in 2014, but her legacy survived. During the later years of her life, she consecrated her time in the Alice Coachman Track and Field Foundation, that helped support young athletes. When asked what it takes to be a champion in an interview in 1985, the First African American Female Olympic Gold Medallist answered, “You got to have determination, you got to have guts, you have to train and let nothing comes between you and that goal you want to reach.”
Wilma Rudolph: The First American Woman to win 3 Gold Medals at a Single Olympics
Wilma Rudolph’s story is also one of hardships and perseverance. However, unlike Coachman, she grew up in a more positive and supportive family, probably because she suffered from polio as a young girl. This illness, provoked by a virus, causes paralysis of certain body parts. For Wilma, it was her leg; very ironic when years later she won Olympic medals for her running abilities.
“I had developed a great love for something, and I felt free.”
Her childhood and the other kids’ mockery she faced probably shaped the insatiable woman she grew up to be. Against all odds, the treatments worked and soon enough she started sports. But she did not join the running tracks first. Wilma, following her older sister footsteps, began with basketball but realised that not only she preferred individual sports but that she was also very good at running. At only 13, she was already training alongside the best Black women runners from the university team. As one of 22 siblings, she realised very early in her life that practicing this sport was also a chance to be provided a solid education while doing something she enjoyed.
“There was no such thing as summer camp for young black girls in my home town”
For a huge part of her upbringing, she could only train with or against Black people and even went to a Black University. This never bothered her beyond measure because coming from a small city she found great competition and met interesting people. The more she was winning, the more it forced institutions to give her opportunities. In 1960, at the Rome Olympics, she won three gold medals and officially became the first American woman to win three gold medals at a single Olympics.
“I sort of always defied the traditional segregated aspect of Tennessee. I think I always did things I wasn’t supposed to do: if there was a sign that said you’re supposed to go to the opposite door, I went in the door that you’re not supposed to go in”.
And that is exactly what she did after returning to the U.S. Hadn’t she insisted that her homecoming parade be fully mixed, Clarksville’s city would have never had their first fully integrated event that year. She was praised all over the world and received many prestigious recognitions. Like Coachman she ended her amateur athlete career shortly after. She consecrated the rest of her life to education while continuing her sports involvement. She died of cancer at 54 years old but left behind her a generation of young athletes looking up to what Rudolph accomplished. Interviewed, like Coachman, about what it takes to be a champion in 1985, she stated, “The most important aspect about anything that one wants to be is that they have to believe it first”. This idea that your world always starts in your mind is inherent to Wilma Rudolph’s backstory.
TO CONCLUDE…
The antiracist campaign led by Balkans Hotspot is an excellent opportunity to recall how these Black women, among many others, shaped how Black people, especially women, can practice sports nowadays. Unknowingly or not, they fought all their lives for equal rights. They were humble yet proud of their careers and accomplishments, but most of all, their identity as a Black women practising sports. The media treatment they received probably contributed to their lower exposure by the general public. However, one thing is certain: their achievements forced society to recognise them not only for who they are as human beings but not just people of colour.
SOURCES:
http://repository.wustl.edu/concern/videos/b27740880
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-women-in-sports#debi-thomas
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