Gwen Berry Will Not Be Silenced, Protesting Racial Inequality in 2019 and Finally Being Understood
06/16/20 • 38 min
“Take accountability. We are tired of educating you. We are tired of getting racially profiled and getting racially discriminated against. We're tired of being killed. We can't do both. White people have to take the burden...Help us because we can't do it by ourselves."
Last year, Gwen Berry raised her first on the podium of the Pan American Games after winning the gold medal in the hammer throw. Her protest against racial and social injustice in America landed her a 12-month probation from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. After nationwide protests broke out at the end of May, I caught up with Gwen for a Sports Illustrated interview in which she said she would do it again in 2021 once her probation is up. On social media, she demanded an apology from USOPC CEO Sarah Hershland after they released a statement saying the USOPC stands "stands with those who demand equality." They had a phone call where Hirshland apologized for the effects of the decision to put Berry on probation.
Berry grew up in Ferguson, Mo., and marched with protesters in St. Louis in 2014, after Michael Brown was shot and killed by former police officer Darren Wilson. The death ignited weeks of unrest and conversation about race relations, but Wilson was never prosecuted. In 2020, Berry has taken to the streets to protest George Floyd's death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.
Gwen Berry will not be silenced. In this podcast, we discuss what the past few weeks have been like for her, conversations among elite athletes possibly protesting in 2021 and much more.
Read my Sports Illustrated interview with Gwen here: https://www.si.com/olympics/2020/06/02/gwen-berry-us-olympic-thrower-athlete-protests-george-floyd
Gwen's donation suggestion for the Black Lives Matter movement: https://buytheblock.com/
Support for this episode comes from GOODR SUNGLASSES – Been rocking Goodr sunglasses throughout the past couple months and they're the best. No slip. No bounce. No fog. Polarized. Ridiculously affordable starting at $25 a pair. No discounts needed when they’re already the most affordable performance shades on the planet. Visit Goodr.com/citius to check out some of my favorite pairs. #EyesAreFeelinGoodr
▶ Follow us: twitter.com/CitiusMag | instagram.com/citiusmag | facebook.com/citiusmag
✩ Connect with Chris via Email: [email protected] | twitter.com/ChrisChavez | instagram.com/chris_j_chavez
“Take accountability. We are tired of educating you. We are tired of getting racially profiled and getting racially discriminated against. We're tired of being killed. We can't do both. White people have to take the burden...Help us because we can't do it by ourselves."
Last year, Gwen Berry raised her first on the podium of the Pan American Games after winning the gold medal in the hammer throw. Her protest against racial and social injustice in America landed her a 12-month probation from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. After nationwide protests broke out at the end of May, I caught up with Gwen for a Sports Illustrated interview in which she said she would do it again in 2021 once her probation is up. On social media, she demanded an apology from USOPC CEO Sarah Hershland after they released a statement saying the USOPC stands "stands with those who demand equality." They had a phone call where Hirshland apologized for the effects of the decision to put Berry on probation.
Berry grew up in Ferguson, Mo., and marched with protesters in St. Louis in 2014, after Michael Brown was shot and killed by former police officer Darren Wilson. The death ignited weeks of unrest and conversation about race relations, but Wilson was never prosecuted. In 2020, Berry has taken to the streets to protest George Floyd's death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.
Gwen Berry will not be silenced. In this podcast, we discuss what the past few weeks have been like for her, conversations among elite athletes possibly protesting in 2021 and much more.
Read my Sports Illustrated interview with Gwen here: https://www.si.com/olympics/2020/06/02/gwen-berry-us-olympic-thrower-athlete-protests-george-floyd
Gwen's donation suggestion for the Black Lives Matter movement: https://buytheblock.com/
Support for this episode comes from GOODR SUNGLASSES – Been rocking Goodr sunglasses throughout the past couple months and they're the best. No slip. No bounce. No fog. Polarized. Ridiculously affordable starting at $25 a pair. No discounts needed when they’re already the most affordable performance shades on the planet. Visit Goodr.com/citius to check out some of my favorite pairs. #EyesAreFeelinGoodr
▶ Follow us: twitter.com/CitiusMag | instagram.com/citiusmag | facebook.com/citiusmag
✩ Connect with Chris via Email: [email protected] | twitter.com/ChrisChavez | instagram.com/chris_j_chavez
Previous Episode
Russell Dinkins Wants to Save Brown Track And Field, Examining Racial Injustice in Sport
"Here’s the thing: For a kid who plays squash in Connecticut, it doesn’t matter if they go to Brown, Princeton or Harvard. They can go to some other school and they’re likely going to be OK. Their families have money. They have connections. They’re going to be alright. They’re going to go to college. A kid who ran really fast and ran a really great 1,500 at their small state meet or their local city conference, gets a call from somebody – they have a life-changing opportunity. They have an opportunity to change their future in a way that otherwise would not have been possible.
Why am I going to sit back and let that happen? I’m not so that’s why I wrote the article."
On May 28, Brown University announced its decision to cut 11 varsity sports as part of their Excellence in Brown Athletics Initiative. The teams that were cut were men's and women’s fencing, men's and women’s golf, women’s skiing, men's and women’s squash, women’s equestrian, and men’s track, field, and cross country — will transition to club status. Former Princeton middle distance specialist Russell Dinkins joins the CITIUS MAG Podcast after writing "Brown University, If You Were Actually Serious About Racial Justice You Would Not Be Cutting the Men’s Track Team." Nearly 50,000 people have signed a petition to retain the program's varsity status.
David Melly, the host of the Run Your Mouth Podcast and a contributor to CITIUS MAG, joins me as well because he wrote his own open letter to the Brown University president on Calling For Excellence.
We discuss why we're all disappointed by Brown's decision and why it should be reinstated to show true advocacy for diversity in athletics. And in light of the current events in the world, this ties very well into the ongoing discussion of diversifying organizations and making sure there is equality in the opportunities presented to people of color.
You can catch the latest episode of the podcast on iTunes so subscribe and leave a five-star review. We are also on Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify.
Next Episode
Richard Issa Has Hope For The Running Community As We Heal
As we continue our discussion about race and sport, Matt Meyer decided to bring on our friend Richard Issa Bockari. He heads the Issa Run Crew in Philadelphia. He shares his experiences in the running community from the perspective as a Black runner in the middle of the pack and among the amateurs – where it is very often white. On Global Running Day, he invited a few members from his run crew to join him in a protest run but instead, they marched and then took a knee in the middle of a Philadelphia intersection for a moment of silence that lasted nine minutes.
In this episode, he discusses the conversations he's having with members of his running community, questions people should be asking themselves and how we can all be allies in the Black Lives Matter movement.
▶ Follow Richard on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richardissa/
He gave his phone number on the podcast so if you want to talk to him, call or text him at (609) 902-7354
Support for this episode comes from GOODR SUNGLASSES – Been rocking Goodr sunglasses throughout the past couple months and they're the best. No slip. No bounce. No fog. Polarized. Ridiculously affordable starting at $25 a pair. No discounts needed when they’re already the most affordable performance shades on the planet. Visit Goodr.com/citius to check out some of my favorite pairs. #EyesAreFeelinGoodr
▶ Follow us: twitter.com/CitiusMag | instagram.com/citiusmag | facebook.com/citiusmag
✩ Connect with Chris via Email: [email protected] | twitter.com/ChrisChavez | instagram.com/chris_j_chavez
▶ Follow us: twitter.com/CitiusMag | instagram.com/citiusmag | facebook.com/citiusmag
✩ Connect with Chris via Email: [email protected] | twitter.com/ChrisChavez | instagram.com/chris_j_chavez
✩ Connect with Matt on Instagram: Instagram.com/matthewlukemeyer
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