NFL
By: Zachary Draves
When it comes to balancing athletic excellence with social responsibility, Olympic hammer thrower Gwen Berry sets a prime example.
As she begins her quest for Olympic dominance this summer in Tokyo she is going in with not just a focus on achieving extraordinary heights but also with a strong commitment to social justice.
(Courtesy: Track and Field News)
Hailing from Ferguson, Missouri, the epicenter of where the Black Lives Matter movement became prominent, Gwen has seen firsthand systemic injustice and has dedicated her career to being a tireless advocate for truth.
Her coming out moment came at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima Peru.
After winning gold in the hammer throw, she took to the medal stand and as the national anthem played on she got in touch with her inner Tommie Smith and John Carlos and raised her fist in the air.
(Courtesy: ESPN)
Gwen wasn’t alone in her protest as it was during those same Pan Am games that U.S. fencer Race Imboden took a knee during the anthem at the medal ceremony after he and his teammates won gold in the men’s foil competition.
Their respective calls for social justice came at the right moment as it was during those games that a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas killed twenty-three shopgoers who were overwhelmingly Latino.
This occurred during a time that saw a surge in racist and xenophobic rhetoric and action, from the highest levels of institutional power to individual acts of terror.
So it was very timely for Gwen and Race to call attention to these problems much as their predecessors Tommie Smith, John Carlos, and Lee Evans did at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
As a result, both were punished by the International Olympic Committee for a year.
Ever since Gwen has been on a tireless crusade for social justice.
She is not the least bit shy at calling out the IOC for their regressive policies such as Rule 50 that prohibits political expression and protest during competition and the medal ceremony.
In response to the newest rules that prohibit taking a knee, raising a fist, or publicly supporting Black Lives Matter during the games, Gwen wasted no time in putting out a powerful video , combining the words of Dr. King and Tupac Shakur, declaring her unabashed commitment to activism.
(Courtesy: Youtube)
Even in the midst of all this chaos, Gwen is looking forward to getting out on the field and creating magic.
“This is gonna be the hardest year yet. Going into Tokyo, I feel confident and got to execute” she said.
“We still compete at the highest level.”
The IOCs’ draconianism will also not prevent Gwen from doing what is right and just.
“It doesn’t deter me in any way. I am still gonna speak out” she said.
She is also keenly aware that the IOC has the capacity to effect change and to live in the present moment but isn’t willing to bend.
Furthermore, the Olympics have always been rooted in politics and every aspect of the games from the bidding process to the opening/closing ceremonies is inherently political.
Also, political tensions have been fought out in the Olympic arena for millennia (e.g. the Cold War).
Gwen knows this very well and sums it up better than anyone.
“It is a means of war without the killing” she said.
All you need to do is pick up a history book on the Olympics and you will see it being riddled with politics.
The future for Gwen Berry is bright as the sun and she will continue to epitomize the essence of athlete activism in various capacities.
(Courtesy: PopSugar)
“I definitely see myself creating programs and showing corporations that say they want to invest in black communities how to do it right” she said.
“I want to be the go-to person to effect change.”
With pride in her heart and an unwavering desire, Gwen Berry is unapologetically herself and is to hammer throwing what Shirley Chisholm was to politics.
Unbought and Unbossed.
