The Illusion Of Freedom Steeped In The Tokyo Olympics

By: Future Cain

In his “I Have A Dream” speech in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty we are free at last.” Fifty-eight years later, America should reflect upon our celebration of our independence and freedom.

This freedom is an illusion that some believe we all have. Black people are still being overpoliced in many spaces which demonstrates our lack of freedom. One piece of evidence is that the last month surrounding the Olympics has been steeped in conformity, power, and fear of excellence.

For centuries Blacks have demonstrated our drive, excellence, and creativity. Inventing a new move that no gymnast has been able to accomplish is a feat many will never achieve. Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast with 32 Olympic and world medals, debuted a historic new vault move, the Yurchenko double pike. She showed how savage she was at the US Classic and was met with an absolute mockery of the open-ended Code of Points.

Society wants gymnasts to be unique and try something new, but if a Black woman dares to test the limits of her abilities and excellence, those in charge will change the rule and move the goal line. Black people not being properly rewarded for the excellence they bring to all that we do is as normal as breathing air.

We need to own what John Adams said: “We won’t be their negros.” Sha’Carri Richardson was not the first and won’t be the last Black female woman to be put under a microscope and have their well-being and future.

While some might  say these are the only concerning headlines that surrounded the Olympics and Black women, I cannot, as I am a truth-teller. There are two other sprinters who were banned. The excuse for the removal of Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi of Namibia from the 400-meter dash is their biological make-up. Adding insult to injury is that this is not the first time this has happened. These young women were not allowed to compete because of their naturally high testosterone levels — something they cannot control. In 2018, the World Athletics organization’s definition of womanhood impacts women in 400-meter to 1600-meter events who have high testosterone levels. These 18-year-old elite athletes were banned even though they weren’t aware of the condition and neither were their families.

I and many others long for a better ending to our story of race in America. Racial gaslighting is as American as apple pie and baseball. To rewrite this ending, we need to call on our empathy, sit with uncomfortable truths, apologize, take action, and embrace radical change. In what decade or century will America begin to live up to the ideas penned in our Bill of Rights and Constitution? The limitations placed on Blacks and Black elite athletes are appalling especially when we are living in the middle of a global pandemic and racial unrest.