DCP Ep. 76 Black AND Gold: Rampant Racism in the Olympics
Transcribed by: Cameron Blackwell Completion date: August 11, 2021
DCP 76 AUDIO – Black AND Gold: Rampant Racism in the Olympics
Shana Pinnock [00:00:03] Welcome to Dear Culture, the podcast that gives you music and trust for the culture. I’m your co-host Shana Pinnock, social media director at the Grio,
Gerren Keith Gaynor [00:00:11] and I’m your co-host, Gerren Keith Gaynor, managing editor at the Grio. And this week, we’re asking, “Dear culture, how racist are the Olympics?”
Shana Pinnock [00:00:24] Just about everything else is racist, but before we even get into that, G, you know, we love to talk about what’s been on our minds this week, I will actually start because I just got to get this frustration out. Earlier today, I came across a story. You know, I’m moving back to Atlanta either at the end o f this this year or the very top of next year. And so because of that, I’ve been trying to get myself reacclimated to certain Atlanta things. Right. Reading Atlanta News, figuring out what are all the areas I need to avoid murder, Kroger, et cetera. And I came across a story as reported by WSB TV and. A metro Atlanta man by the name of Frederick Wright is 28 years old and he died of covid this past week, and he leaves behind his twenty five year old widow, widow Brittany Wright. And apparently, you know, on his deathbed, one of his last words of advice were to people to get the vaccine. And the wife explained how the reason why he didn’t get the vaccine was because he pretty much immersed himself on TikTok with a bunch of vaccine conspiracy theory videos. And I think it’s just. All of these stories that we’ve been hearing about people who have been passing away from covid, but especially this very, very aggressive Delta variant, you know, we’ve been hearing talks that up in the labs, at least the lambda variant is out here combating the vaccine, like the vaccine might not be any, you know, any any match for the lambda variant. Like there’s all of these things as we’re heading into yet another covid winter. And I am so incredibly frustrated to continue to have to see these stories of people who are who are dying, who are on their deathbeds, and they are claiming, I just I can’t take the vaccine. I don’t trust the government. But then we’ll turn around and say things like and the FDA hasn’t even approved it. You do realize that the FDA is a governmental agency, right. So do you believe the government or do you not like what’s what’s the issue here? You’re sitting here and you’re saying that you don’t trust the vaccine, but what do you do trust are. Doctors who are going to save your life with further experimental drugs in the first place to keep you alive, it’s maddening. It is it is so frustrating to know that there are so many of us who have spent a year and a half of our lives pretty much on pause, you know, and even if we did it and hell, I was just in Vegas two weeks ago, you know what I
mean? And still messed up at a pool party because I see how crazy this is and how detrimental it can be and how devastating it can be. This also, it hits closer to home for me right now. My brother and I’ve talked about him on this show before. You know, I don’t really care too much for my sister-in-law. I don’t care. It is what it is. But she is pregnant right now with my brother’s fifth kid, and she refused to take the the the vaccine because according to her, covid is just like the flu. She convinced my brother to take himself and his three other children. My oldest is often college. My oldest nephew’s off in college, convinced him to take him himself and the three other kids and her to Disney World. And they all came back and they all have covid. All of them, my brother’s little brother, who didn’t even go to Disney World, he was house sitting, he has covered right now. And he didn’t go anywhere, he didn’t do anything, he did what he was supposed to do, and he has the worst symptoms of them all. My brother is the only one that is vaccinated. It is so frustrating. And granted, more than likely they’ll be fine. They’ve been OK. They’ve been having congestion issues and a little bit of breathing here and there. But more than likely, they’ll be OK. But you know what? I’m not going to do? I’m not going to sit here and watch this anecdotal evidence of my brother and his entire family catching this thing and. Oh, yeah, possibly being OK when we don’t know the long term ramifications of it. I don’t know if any of my niece or my nephews are suddenly going to have, like, heart issues or lung issues or something in the future. We don’t know because my sister in law, because she refuses to go ahead and get vaccinated. What would happen to my unborn niece and nephew? I don’t know. But what I do know is that it is arrogant, it is selfish, it is foolish. And here’s the thing. If you choose to not get the vaccine, at the very least, when I want you to also do is choose not to go ahead and get any experimental treatment, stay at home, do not get experimental treatment from those four. For those people who actually have been trying to do what is necessary to make sure that we can move past this. It is selfish. It is arrogant, is ridiculous. I’m real sick and tired of all with these conspiracy theories. It’s dumb. Y’all look dumb and you sound dumb. And I have no I have no I have no grace left. I gave you all a year and a half. I have no grace left. What about you, G?
Gerren Keith Gaynor [00:06:04] So, you know, Shana, you’re you’re talking about the you mentioned the misinformation aspect of why people are not getting vaccinated and going on to die from covid still after over a year. But also there are elected officials who are responsible for the over six hundred thousand Americans who die so far covid. And you have politicians like Ron Decencies in Florida who from day one has not been cooperative in this this fight in America to save lives from covid. Even when when there was the shutdown, he was him. And leaders of other red states were very quick to open up businesses when they shouldn’t have, when the CDC, when the World Health Organization advised not to do it. And then what happened there? Covid cases went up and people died. So you would think that DeSantis would have learned from last year,
but he has not. Instead, he is now instituting an anti mass mandate, meaning that schools cannot make children wear masks and make teachers and school staff wear mask when they return to school. And we all know that the Delta variant is rising and is being spread not just by people who are unvaccinated, but being spread by people who are vaccinated. And what’s even scary about that is that if you are vaccinated, you might not even know that you have the virus and then you are potentially sharing it with people, including children. There is a rise in children contracting covid-19. And so there are a lot of questions still about the virus, especially as it continues to mutate. And I really want to call out people like DeSantis because he recently doubled down on his anti mass mandate and is now threatening to take the pain away from teachers and from school board members if they go against him, if they defy him and decide to implement mask mandates in the schools. And what really frustrates me the most about DeSantis is not the fact that he may or may not believe what a lot of conservatives believe, which is that Americans should have their their civil liberties respected. And if they don’t want to wear a mask, they shouldn’t have to wear a mask. But for people like DeSantis it is really important to emphasize that this is also about politics. Because if you look at polls right now about who Republicans would like to see on the twenty twenty four presidential ticket distances, polls very high after Donald Trump. So in the event that Donald Trump does not run or Donald Trump is arrested because we all know that he has a lot of legal lawsuits going on right now, that DeSantis is essentially the de facto Republican believed to be, to be to run for president in twenty twenty four. And we saw the ways in which Trump and Republicans politicized covid-19 and now and then the mask and now vaccines. And that has not continued because now you have a whole base of American people, millions of American people who now, no matter what you say, no matter what the science says, no matter how many people die, they refuse to believe anything that comes out of the mouths of scientists in the CDC, and so they’ve really created a very dangerous situation here in the US because it seems like these people are now indoctrinated and there’s nothing that they that you can tell them and they rather die. They rather take their chances with this virus, then wear a mask or get a vaccine. And so while we have the Black community for legitimate reasons, not trusting the vaccine, being apprehensive about the vaccine, you also have these Republican sycophants who are politicizing a public health crisis all for their own positions or future positions in politics. And so there’s there’s like there’s a lot going on with covid. And I just really want it to be over. But, yeah, it’s just ridiculous. And just shame on Ron DeSantis and shame on the Republican Party
Shana Pinnock [00:10:23] for Ron Desantis. Considering that my uncle and his family and my grandmother all live in Florida, all I will say is you better hope and pray that nothing happens to none of me and mine, because you may as well just call me Zoe Saldana, OK? Because I will be on my Columbiana. I’m going to come find you, period.
And for those who don’t want to, you know, you’d rather die than wear a mask or get a vaccine. Please do. Go ahead. Less people to vote for the red. Thank you. You make my life easier. But anywho. Let’s get into the show. The Olympics are officially over, and while the US represented in a major, way shout out to all the Black girls, I see there’s been tons of controversy surrounding some of the top Black athletes. Fans were stunned when Sha’carri Richardson was banned from competing due to marijuana usage. Simon Biles made headlines for backing out of the competition to focus on her mental health and received backlash for that decision. In Richardson’s case, many feel the rules of the competition are rigged and black athletes receive harsher punishments. And in Biles’ case many in our community believe that her prioritization of her mental health was looked down upon because of her skin color. This week, we’ll be discussing whether racism plays a part in the systems in place within the Olympics organization and how media coverage and fans of the sport have contributed to the problem. Let’s get into it.
Gerren Keith Gaynor [00:11:55] So, Shana, I’m really glad we’re talking about the Olympics, because there’s been so much that has gone on, I mean, I remember watching Shi’carri Richardson run her her her trial run, her race. And I had never heard of her, but I watched the race and she was electrifying. And in addition to being a phenomenal runner, she she visibly just like she just looked like a superhero. She had the orange, the orange hair, she had the nails. And so she became like this force that everyone was looking forward to seeing run in the Olympics only for her Olympic dreams to be killed because she tested positive for marijuana. And then the USA track and field decided to adhere to the American anti-doping policy, which is that if you do test positive for marijuana and other types of drugs that are on this specific list, you are suspended. And so she was suspended for 30 days. There was an opportunity for her to run in the relay with her other fellow American runners and that she was not included on that list. Many people have a lot of things to say. As we know, Shi’carri Richardson said that she she fessed up to what happened. She said, I knew what I was doing. I knew the repercussions, and she accepted those repercussions. But she said that she she had marijuana because she was coping with the death of her mother and her mother, whom she had a very strained relationship with. And she found out about her mother’s death from a reporter, which is ridiculous. And so we all know that to be Black in America and to be a Black woman or be a Black young woman also having the world watching you as you have to perform at your best, that’s a lot to take on. There’s a lot of stress, a lot of things to worry about. And it is really unfortunate that America couldn’t didn’t take a stand more on this issue because we see dozens of states in America now making marijuana illegal. And yet if you test positive for marijuana, you can’t represent your country at the Olympics. And a lot of people kept saying, oh, they were just following the rules. There’s nothing that they could have done. There was a statement
released by either either the USA track and field or the larger body of American sports. And they basically said that they they they sympathize with Shi’carri Richardson, but they couldn’t do anything. I disagree because for those who don’t know, Russian athletes in the Olympics have a reputation for, there’s a rumor that Russians have a state-sanctioned doping system and that they are essentially taking drugs, performance enhancement drugs. And yet they’re not banned from the Olympics because the reality is that not every athlete is tested before they participate in the Olympics is just that in the US they have chosen to adhere to the world anti-doping system is very complicated and very convoluted. But the reality is that they didn’t have to adhere by that rule, given that other countries don’t adhere to the rule. And so they could have taken the stand. Instead, they decided to tie their hands behind their backs. And so I don’t agree with their decision. I think that it it continues to perpetuate the criminalization and penalization around marijuana and cannabis when we know that cannabis, in my opinion, is a healing, is a healing drug. And so this is something that has been a part of African ancestral cultures and other cultures, indigenous cultures, that we know that indigenous people, they prayed and had spiritual ceremonies with marijuana. Cannabis is just that. We live in a modern society where we continue to criminalize it and oftentimes disproportionately criminalize Black and brown people for using marijuana. And so there’s a lot to that we can construct and deconstruct around marijuana. But the bottom line is that we know that marijuana is not an enhancement drug. In fact, it does the opposite. If you ask some people, not a doctor, I don’t necessarily feel like I would perform better at running because I had marijuana. And not to mention she had the drug like I think like weeks before the Olympics even started. So I really wouldn’t have played a factor in anything. And so it’s just really unfortunate that she had to be a scapegoat for this. War on drugs that continues to rear its ugly head in almost every aspect of society, including sports,
Shana Pinnock [00:17:01] I mean, first and foremost, we have to acknowledge that Sha’carri, according to her and she wasn’t wrong, but she’s that girl. OK, let’s let’s go ahead and give her that shine. Now, for me, especially hearing about the passing of her biological mother and then just all of those stresses and things of that nature. Now, let me tell you something. I am a social media director. I do a lot of other things. But, you know, that’s my job. And when I tell you that this job, as much as I love the Grio, as much as I love you doing this job is stressing me the hell out. You all know I am a vehement supporter of edibles and all things cannabis. A couple of things. One, that’s just for me being stressed out by daily life, that’s just for me, like having to deal with my anxiety, just like. Living being Black in a woman in America, Sha’carri Richardson. Had the literal whole world’s eyes on her as she is mourning her mother dying now, I’m a keep it up, but God, God, you know, hopefully is not any time soon. I mean, knock on wood. But if and or when my mother passes, please understand yawing. I’m going to be
able to talk to me for at least three months. I’m going to be high out of my mind. It’s just what it is because I don’t know how else am I supposed to be doing therapy and hi, that’s it. Those are only two options that I have, though more than likely be used in conjunction with one another. So I’m never, ever going to fault that young lady who is is a girl of a 20 year. That is a child. She is a child. I’m not going to be able to fault her ever under any circumstances that she. Hit it, hit a joint a few times just to center herself now, again, as a person who was a huge proponent for all things edibles, let me tell you something right now. Never in my life have I taken an edible hit, hit a bong, hit a blunt in any of these things and felt the need to go off running. What for? Why? To ruin my. Hi, what are you talking about? No, you know what I want to do, actually, I want to just sit here, drink some wine, eat some popcorn, and possibly have like a base by Melissa’s cupcake. Like, that’s all I like. That’s all I care about. Give me delicious food, something sweet little sweet meat and something to drink. I’m good. No performance enhancer with performance enhancing. My my my sloth? My laziness, if that’s the case now. And granted, I’ve heard people say things like, oh well, you know, it’s just the rules and rules are rules and rules and rules and rules and rules and rules. Here’s the thing. Rules are made to be broken, period, and especially given the context of marijuana just in general, because let’s again and I’m so glad that you touched on this different in terms of like the war on drugs and everything else. Let’s be very clear now, and I believe we discussed this on this show, but the whole purpose of positioning weed, marijuana as a as a hippie drug and as a Negro and Latino drug was very intentional by the Regans, I believe was very intentional. That whole one drug thing is B.S. And unfortunately, the rest of the country likes to pick that up as well. So but here’s my thing. I’m sorry if if, if, if. Shelby and Karen and and and and Bryn can make THC dog treats and make a living, leave this Black girl alone. Leave people who smoke weed alone just mind your business because it had nothing to do with that. You know, I also I’m also really glad that you touched on that Russian joint, bro, because let’s be very clear, if now, for those who don’t know, Russia was actually banned from participating in the Olympics for four years, back in twenty nineteen, that got shortened to two years. Right. So what you would think? Oh, well, this is why they’re competing in the Tokyo Olympics, even though it’s twenty twenty one. The Tokyo Olympics are marketed as the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. So Russia should have their behinds out. Right. They shouldn’t even be in the whole situation. But all of the Russian athletes are participating under the ROC, the Russian Olympic Committee. So here’s my thing again. The only reason why I mention it is, again, rules are made to be broken. I’m sorry I wasn’t supposed to see a single not whoever recip whatever word I was supposed to be a Vlad Vladimir Of luck. Well, I wasn’t supposed to see nobody this year, but here they are. And why? Because, oh, there are other ways to get around the rules, but there’s never any ways to get around the rules as it relates to black women, as it relates to black athletes in general. Let’s be very clear. There was another athlete. I cannot remember her name off the top of the
head, but they outed this woman for having an abortion. And to preserve her career, but to for having an abortion and could it end? And this is where media up, why do we need to know that that woman decided to delete the fetus? That has nothing to do with any of us. What it does do is now, because it was an error in paperwork, that’s really all it was that disqualified her from being able to participate. Simple error and paperwork that easily can be rectified, overlooked all over all of those things. But the media plays its hand in that part, too, because. Oh, no, no, no. If we say she went and had an abortion, well, then empathy stops from all the crazy pro-choice, oh, a fetus is a life and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. B.S.. I see. Which listen, something in the water aint clean and in an odd way curl up for me. I see what y’all are doing. It’s wrong. It’s trash. Period.
Gerren Keith Gaynor [00:23:48] Not to mention rules are meant to be broken because When I think a rules, I think about laws and oftentimes laws are made by white men and oftentimes laws are sexist and racist and homophobic. So if we follow all the rules and laws that happened decades ago and even just a few years ago, I wouldn’t be able to marry who I love. We as Black people would not be able to vote.
Shana Pinnock [00:24:14] I wouldn’t be able to have a bank account because i’m a woman.
Gerren Keith Gaynor [00:24:16] Exactly. So let’s be mindful about when we talk about rules and following rules, because it’s for us, for people like us who live on the margins, that can be very triggering language.
Shana Pinnock [00:24:27] Exactly. So let’s shift my good sis Simone who just this week had to go ahead and shut somebody down, like she was trying to put words in her mouth, OK, on Twitter, she did a nice little clap back. I appreciate it. But when we see we hear things is a bit different. How did you feel about someone else choosing to put her mental health first light on pretty much the biggest stage that the world could offer?
Gerren Keith Gaynor [00:24:55] I think if there was ever an opportunity to bring global attention to mental health, it happened with Simon Byles and I’m really proud of her because, one, she had to step away because she was dealing with what is called or known as the twisties. And so her life, her actual literal life was in jeopardy. If she continued to try to perform at this level, knowing that she was dealing with the twisties, she could have broken her neck and died. So we we can we can you know, people have a lot of opinions about Simon bias, but the reality is that she’s doing things that many people felt were not humanly possible to do. And so and it really disturbs me that when we just look at Black women in particular as not human beings, just perform, just
entertain us. You know, when you think about the medical industry and how women were seen as as Black women were seen as less than human. So let’s let’s perform these these procedures and just see how it goes because they weren’t even seen as human beings. And so. And I think about the ways in which we celebrate, or at least rather white women bite from Black women. So everybody wants to be a Black woman, but nobody wants to belove a black woman. And so it’s really impactful to see some mobile step away from what she knows is is expected of her. The whole the country in the world is expecting her to be some Simone Biles, but Simone Biles, as she mentioned, post post performance. So mobile is not just a gem. Simone is a young Black woman who honestly and I think years from now we’ll look at someone and say that she changed not only the game of the sport of gymnastics, gymnastics, but she changed the way that the sports industry, the way athletes can, can exist in the sports arena. And despite having to step away from a few performances or competitions, rather, she still pulled out a medal both with her team and individually. And so it’s a lesson that for all of us to take a step back when you need to take a step back, there’s always an opportunity to win, to get gold, to get silver, to get bronze, to get that promotion, whatever it might be. But your mental health comes first because we’ve seen I’ve seen the ways in which mental health can deteriorate. It can lead to depression. It can lead to suicidal thoughts. Exactly. Exactly. And so that’s not something to play with, and so I’m extremely proud of Simone for prioritizing her mental health and and know and while we’re on this conversation, as well as Naomi Osako, the both of them have really been trailblazers when it comes to talking about mental health on this big global and national stage, because the reality is that we it’s a it’s a it’s a universal struggle. We all struggle with mental health issues here and there. And so to see these luminary sports figures say out loud that, look, I’m actually not superhuman. I am a human who has struggles and I need to take breaks some sometimes. And I think that that gives us all permission to do the same.
Shana Pinnock [00:28:37] I’m incredibly I’m incredibly proud of Simon, because the thing is well, first off, just as a black woman, I’m really sick and tired of our labor just being. Ignored and expected, even despite everything that we have to endure, like let’s also recognize Simome Biles really just kind of stuck around to make sure that the gymnastics organization, the United States gymnastic organization like is held accountable for its role. And Larry Nassar, like she’s one of the few gymnasts who are still competing at the level that she’s competing, who was a victim of his, that this organization let just run a racket for decades. Let’s also acknowledge. And this is one thing where I was like, you know what, I am I’m so glad that someone has the support where there were so many. And they were white women. See, I’m not terribly all of you. There were so many white female Olympic athletes who came out on Twitter with their own videos, mind you, and they’re like, this is me when I won this gold medal. But what
you don’t see is I had a broken femur when I did this ridiculous thing on the balance beam, like, you can see me hurt myself. And then they brought me back out 15 minutes later to go and perform the same stunt. There’s another young woman who I cannot remember her name, but there’s another young woman who. Like, I think broke her ankle and they still her coaches still made her perform and so and she won. That’s wonderful. But, you know, it did end up happening. She had to retire. And she’s like, yeah, I just retired because it was a career ending injury one but two also, I was traumatized. These are adults who are supposed to be. Who are supposed to be your biggest advocates? You are up in the air. Let me tell you something. I can’t do a single cartwheel, much less all that stuff that Simon be doing up in the air, running around, blah, blah, blah, like she could literally kill herself. And I’m real, real, real, real, real sick and tired of all these right folks. And some of you Black people grow. Who really and truly you just want to be white, and I really would just appreciate it if you would just say that, but expecting her to still perform like potentially life ending stunts when she’s telling you I do not feel mentally in place, that’s crazy to me. That’s crazy that we have to sit here and defend yo. I don’t feel right. I don’t I’m not feeling right. This is not OK. And I think we need to get to a place as a country where we stop seeing mental health and the and the dedication to having a healthy mental status as something that is weakness that’s not weak. If anything, that requires even more strength to say, yo, I’m actually not OK and I’m actually not good, I’m going to need yall to show me some grace.
Gerren Keith Gaynor [00:31:53] And the reality is that if we’re being honest, if so, Mobile was a young white gymnast who stepped away from her competition and said, I’m stepping away from my mental health. There wouldn’t have been as much hoopla and discussion around it. I don’t think that we have we will we will be seeing these right wing personalities like Piers Morgan, Piers Morgan and his Fox News hosts coming after Naomi Osaka and Simon Biles. You know, and it goes back to what I was making my analogy about the health industry, the medical industry, because this also is a reminder that nationally and globally, people who are non Black don’t see us through a lens of humanity or not believe when black women are not believed, when they say, I’m pregnant, I’m having I’m feeling something in my body, something doesn’t feel right or I’m sick and something doesn’t feel right. Doctors say, oh, just take a pill and rest you’ll be fine. So all is connected to me, just not seeing us as human. And the moment that, you know, someone who is white, they’re seen as someone as to be protected, someone to be believed. But whether it is talking about our experiences with sexual assault, our experiences with racism, our experiences with our mental health, we are not believed. And so this is just as much about racism as it is about just generally talking about mental health and the need to normalize it.
Shana Pinnock [00:33:36] And I think, too, is we have to hold these Olympic committees and everything like accountable. Like let’s talk about why with the swim caps for for black girls who listen, my hair don’t grow long, honey. It gets bigger. That’s what it does. OK, that’s what it it grows like this. They don’t grow like that. It grows like this. It gets bigger. Right. So if I’m swimming, what please explain to me what the aerodynamic benefits are going to be for me, having is this thick as if swim cap on me. You know, I’m saying I’m just trying to beat these white women who have been taught swim in their whole lives. Like explain to me, why is it that we are specifically testing and and and and disqualifying Black women like we have the Namibian sprinters, Christine and Boerma and Beatrice Malinga, I believe it is their last name, like barred from competing because their natural testosterone levels are higher than the limit accepted by women, quote-unquote, like. Bro, like, do you realize I’m sorry, that’s you know what that is that’s not called. That’s an advantage, but it’s a natural one and it’s just one of those things of like why are we? Why are we disqualifying people who they still follow all of the other rules that you have set out, all of these archaic nonsense rules? Case in point, Simone Biles can’t even do a good twist, twist, turn, flip, flip, flip, because, oh, nobody else can do it. So I can’t give you all the scores that we can’t have. You win everything. Why not? She’s the best. She’s the goat. This is why these things are. And if the other girls can’t do it, well, then just guess what. Too bad they can’t do it like it’s crazy to me. And I really and truly, I’m sick and tired of the Olympic Committee hiding behind, again, all of these ridiculous and archaic rules like y’all don’t want to see Ismaeel you don’t want to see us put up a fist. Y’all don’t want to see us have it. You know I love nails you know. I love my good me and my nail tech have a love affair. OK, you don’t want to see anybody with their their, their hair choices or their nail choices because now that ghetto and they should be an athlete and blah blah. I remember all that stuff that you always talk about with Flojo. OK, listen, I was around for that two to seven episode I saw, OK, like it’s it’s, it’s insane to me. And it’s a matter of where we’ve said this constantly. Racism is everywhere. It’s in everything. And I promise you, if I wanted to look for it, I can find it. But it most certainly is when it’s palpable as it relates to the Olympics and the Olympics committee. And I don’t know, man, I guess we’ll see. What’s the next one supposed to be? Twenty, twenty four. Twenty twenty five. Hell, if I know these these dates is all over the place, but I don’t know. We’ll see.
Gerren Keith Gaynor [00:36:57] Yeah. I think, you know, I think about, you know, even when Gabby Douglas, when she performs shoot, you know, she before there was Simone Biles, we were raving about Gabby Douglas, also US gymnast. And I remember there was this racist commercial that they played immediately after her performance was about a monkey performing at the Olympics. And then the Olympics apologized and was like, oh, that was insensitive, whatever. So even when you’re not protesting or trying to cause a stir, you know, there’s always racism always just follows Black athletes,
even when they’re just doing their jobs and doing it. Well, I remember when I think Simome Biles, she performed there was a white athlete who said, oh, if I just paint my skin Black, you know, maybe I’ll win a gold medal, too. So all of these rules and reactions to around and about black athletes, you can’t tell me that it’s not connected to racism, which is, like I mentioned, is a global problem. And just do better world. Just leave us alone. We just want to be Black and excellent.
Shana Pinnock [00:38:10] That’s it. That’s it. So, you know, unfortunately, the Olympics has not always been about supporting our black athletes, working tirelessly within a system fraught with racial and inequalities. It’s inspiring being able to watch these athletes perform at a world class level and still maintain the composure necessary to take care of themselves. Hopefully the organization will do more to support them moving forward, but I doubt it.
Gerren Keith Gaynor [00:38:44] We want to remind our listeners to please support your local Black businesses and donate to your local organizations and religious institutions, the Black business that we will highlight this week is Stay Down Day Fit. Stay Down Day Fit is a digital app that provides all of your fitness and wellness needs. And one place subscribers pay ten dollars a month and can choose from virtual classes, personalized workouts, fitness tips, and more. For more information, you can visit their website at w w w dot. Stay down day fit . com. Thank you for listening to dear culture. If you like what you heard, please give us a five star review. Subscribe to the show wherever you listen to your podcast and share it with everyone you know.
Shana Pinnock [00:39:24] And of course, please email all questions, suggestions and compliments. We love those to podcast at theGrio.com. The Dear Culture Podcast is brought to you by the Grio, an executive produced by Blue Telusma and co-produced by Taji Senior Brenda Alexander and Abdul Quddus.
