Season 5 Episode #27 Athletes on the World Stage: How Does Social Justice Play?

What drives athletes to risk it all for social justice on the world stage? Join me, Jeba Edmonds, on the Cultural Curriculum Chat Podcast as we uncover the powerful intersection of athletics and activism. From the historic 1968 Olympic Games protest by Tommy Smith and John Carlos to modern examples like Colin Kaepernick and Megan Rapinoe, this episode explores the impactful ways athletes use their influence to spark crucial conversations about social issues, despite the International Olympic Committee's stance on political neutrality.

Discover the latest acts of courage and solidarity at the Paris 2024 Games, where athletes like Afghan break dancer B-girl To Lash and the Algerian team are making bold statements for justice and human rights. Learn about their sacrifices and the immense risks they take to amplify marginalized voices and bring global attention to pressing issues. This is a thought-provoking discussion that bridges the realms of sports and social activism, offering valuable insights for educators and community members alike. Tune in to hear stories that challenge the status quo and inspire transformation.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:21

In recent years, athletes have used their platforms on the world stage to bring awareness to social injustices around the world. Hello, my name is Jeba Edmonds and welcome to the Cultural Curriculum Chat Podcast. And if you're watching on YouTube, mrs Edmonds, cultural Corner, I'm your host, jeba Edmonds, cultural Corner. I'm your host, jeba Edmonds, and I share all things multicultural educational practices, tools and resources for you, the educator, and the community member at large. So for today's topic, we're going to talk about the intersections between athletes and social injustice on this episode, and I am so excited to give you lots of examples that you can bring on more conversation at home or in the classroom. We're going to start with the big influence that athletes today have. They have millions of followers on social media, but before social media, the influence was palatable on the world stage. Now we're going to bring it all the way back to 1968, at the Olympic games in Mexico city. Just picture it six months after Martin Luther King Jr's assassination, tommy Smith and John Carlos, two African-American track stars, stepped onto the podium to receive their Olympic medals. They won gold and bronze in the 200 meter, but neither men were wearing shoes. They decided to wear black socks in order to highlight the poverty of black Americans. Back in the United States and because of the racial unrest following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, these men wore black gloves, had their heads bowed down and had a glove fist, symbolizing black power and understanding in this iconic image that you can see in history books alike. Now you might be wondering why these men took to that Olympic stage to showcase the injustices happening on back home. They've risked it all and a lot of them to this day would say it was the right thing to do, even though they were stripped of their medals and face death threats. Now you might be wondering why are athletes using their social, political attitudes and expression when we're here to play sports? Even the IOC even stated that sports in the Olympics should be neutral. This should be a game of, and I quote, solidarity and leaving the political feelings at bay. It's really hard for athletes who have worked their dream to be on the world stage to not say anything at all. So when we are talking about sports, it also is political. Olympic Games Commission wanted to have these games to be separate from politics, with their latest guidelines to be neutral, and you know any athlete's expression, you know, should be um, free from distraction, which would cause more people to be looking. I think the reason why these athletes are using the world stage is to have that social consciousness, have these conversations with our families at home and talking to our leaders in government of how we can make transformational change. Now that was 1968. And we're still seeing it till this day, talking about the likes of Colin Kaepernick, megan Rapinoe, even LeBron James.

Speaker 1: 4:33

Domestically and internationally, they have done things to set apart themselves for being socially conscious. Another example that I found was really eyeopening was there are ways that athletes, even in the Paris 2024 games, that use their platform and their influence to affect social consciousness. One example that I thought was interesting was the Afghan first time ever Olympic break dance competition was a member of the Olympic refugee team. It was a woman from Afghanistan who wore a cape. Her name was B girl to lash and she was immediately disqualified by wearing a cape that said free Afghan women. Again, she wasn't on a podium, but it did violate the IOC rules. Now, thinking about this in 2024, she wasn't harming anyone, but she did raise consciousness. She risked everything that she worked so hard for in the art form of break dancing, but the ultimate price was the consciousness for all of us to recognize.

Speaker 1: 5:51

Another example that I thought was interesting was the Algerian athletic team during the Paris opening ceremony. They wanted to honor the victims in Paris in 1961 from Algeria, due to police violence and brutality in Paris of 1961. The athletes at that time, in 2024, strewn roses into the river Seine to recognize the hundreds of victims in that horrible, horrible time in France history, in that horrible, horrible time in France history. So there are different ways that these athletes in today that have shown the solidarity and the humanity of speaking up and against and recognizing those victims who are no longer with us. Another example that I thought was very interesting was that the IOC allowed the host country of France to ban the hijab from women who are practicing Muslims in the sports games. Now, I thought that was also interesting because critics from all over the world said this was a very shameful moment. It was never banned in previous Olympic games and understanding why in 2024 it was was very confusing and upsetting, but not to be outdone. Dutch runner Sifan Hassan, who became a record-breaking Olympic marathoner, won the gold medal. She wore her hijab proudly during the ceremony to receive her gold medal.

Speaker 1: 7:36

So there are plenty of things that, as a global society, we're trying to figure out, but I can highly recommend going back, educators and family members, to these iconic moments of protest and use this as a moment of discussion in your classrooms or even in your community as to why people from all over the world want us to be aware of what is happening to each other. Now, if you would like to join in our global community of learners, be sure to subscribe to my channel and podcast to be a part of this movement, because the only way of moving forward is to understand where we're coming from, and that is going to propel us to keep on moving in the right direction. Now there's plenty of lots of examples that I can share with you today on these athletes, but I would love for you to go back and look at these pictures. Do a gallery walk with your students of the iconic pictures of Tommy Smith and John Carlos in the Mexico city games in 1968. Find that picture of B girl to lash in the 2024 Paris games and see her draped in her cape.

Speaker 1: 9:01

I also want you to go back and find other athletes kneeling down, other athletes doing the X in podiums, in stages, and see what they meant by reading the articles, after we've interviewed those athletes, of what they meant to portray in their form of expression. This can open up the gates of civil discourse. It can also open up the gates to looking at has anything changed since this physical moment of expression? So that's another example that I would like for you educators to try moving forward. We are talking all about the Olympic games. What a wonderful way to include this in your social studies units, because we have a lot of data and statistics when we're talking about math when it comes to Olympics. Let's use this in our history classes to talk about present day and social activism in athleticism in the past. That's all that I have for you today on the cultural curriculum chat podcast and Mrs Edmonds cultural corner. I look forward to seeing you here same time next week. Bye-bye.