In 1924, track and field star DeHart Hubbard traveled to the Paris Olympics only to learn that Black athletes couldn't compete in the 100-meter dash and high hurdles. Hubbard went on to win gold in the long jump.
Tommie Smith and John Carlos placed first and third in the 200-meter event at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. They took the podium in black socks to symbolize Black poverty and black beads to commemorate lynching victims. The men boldly raised their fists in a controversial demonstration of Black unity. Although suspended from the U.S. team and vilified by the media, Smith said, "The only regret was that it had to be done."
After leaving the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics with silver, Florence "Flo-Jo" Joyner resolved to take home the gold next time. In the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Joyner did exactly that, setting world records for the 100- and 200-meter events as “the fastest woman in the world.”
Many of today's Black athletes, like Sha'Carri Richardson and Coco Gauff, are scrutinized in ways that non-Black athletes aren’t. But like their Olympic predecessors, they refuse to let it get in the way of achieving greatness.
Navigating and owning spaces never meant for us is hard. But no matter what we encounter, we should never forget that we are golden.