There’s no question that Black track and field athletes are at the core of the sport, but little has been asked about their lives off the track. Here are the stories of 14 stars of the sport.
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00:00Last week, our Chris Chavez reached out to 14 black track and field athletes and asked
00:05three questions that are pertinent in today's day and age and really have been for a long
00:10time.
00:11One, to you, what does it mean to be black in America?
00:13Two, what was your first or most impactful experience with racism that has shaped you
00:17into the person you are today?
00:18And three, what are you doing and what do you hope people can do to enact or encourage
00:22change in society?
00:23Chris, what did you get from the responses to those questions?
00:27They were super powerful responses, and I think what really stood out to me was the
00:31fact that there were so many overlapping experiences, you know, there were two athletes like Will
00:38Clay and O'Leek Harris who, you know, participate in different disciplines of the sport, but
00:44both at some point in their, you know, teenage years had guns pulled on them, you know, by
00:49the police.
00:50Or, you know, there's Aisha Pratt and Shamir Little having racial slurs like yelled at
00:55her.
00:56So there's some very ugly realities that these athletes have faced in their day-to-day lives.
01:02We see all the, you know, awesome moments at the Olympics and the World Championships,
01:07but this was them taking a step back and giving a glimpse into their day-to-day lives as black,
01:13you know, people in America.
01:16Now, you know, as far as, you know, those voices being heard right now, did you get
01:22any sense from them that this is something that they, you know, have been trying to express
01:26for a long time, but nobody's actually asked them these questions specifically?
01:32You know, that was interesting because I even had to take a step back and realize that I've
01:37been covering this sport for nearly a decade, and, you know, you tell the stories of their
01:42accomplishments, but you really don't dive too deep into, you know, the childhood experiences
01:50and some of these encounters with racism that really do shape the way that they go about
01:54their day-to-day lives.
01:55So, you know, it's been a period of self-reflection for a lot of people, myself included, and
02:01listening to this, I think you start to get the feeling, you know, despite that maybe
02:06last week or the previous two weeks, there have been a lot of feelings of sadness and
02:10anger.
02:11There's optimism and hope that these shared experiences are going to be out there and
02:15these uncomfortable conversations are happening.
02:18Now that people are attempting to take a run in their shoes, if you will.
02:24Yeah, and it's interesting because, you know, when I think of race day, whether it's at
02:32a track meet or a marathon, it's a beautiful thing, you know, everyone is in the stands
02:37either rooting for their home country or, you know, particular athletes, and you want
02:41to, you know, see these athletes get the best out of themselves, and so kind of in the same
02:46way that you're rooting for them on the track or whether it's, you know, at the Olympics,
02:51I think together we are now all on the same exact team, and that's, you know, everyone
02:56versus racism.
02:57And if you're not on that team, then I just don't know where your place is.