Gabby and Hope and Why It Matters

If you are like me and my husband, you may be feeling a little more tired than usual, due to late nights up watching the XXX Olympic Games.  Yes, we are Olympics fans in our household! 

Our son, Geoffrey, particularly looks forward to swimming (he is a Michael Phelps fan, and shares Michael's ADHD diagnosis) and track (he has his own running aspirations--2020 Olympics perhaps?).  Steve & I enjoy quite a number of different events--swimming, beach volleyball, track, diving, and gymnasitics.  (I don't mean to offend any other sports I may have neglected to mention... like I said, I am overly tired from too many late nights!)

Thursday night, like many others, we watched Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman represent the U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team in the Women's All-Around Final.  By now, everyone knows that the Gold Medal was won by 16-year old Gabby, and only the crankiest folks could see her smile and not feel uplifted!  Did you hear what this girl had to say just after her medal ceremony by the way?  In her interview with NBC, Gabby immediately praised God, saying, "I give all the glory to God... It's kind of a win-win situation:  the glory goes up to Him and the blessings fall down on me." 

It was a significant accomplishment, one which had nothing to do with Gabby's skin color, and yet... Gabby did become the first ever African American to win the Gold Medal in this event.  Friday, I read an article by Tom Holbrook on examiner.com which complained about the mentioning of this distinction.  Holbrook even went so far as to say, "Why can't we forget the black/white thing?"  This author wants me and others to believe that it doesn't matter.  I disagree.  It matters. 

You see, I am the Mother of an African American girl.  As I watched Gabby compete, I rooted for her as a fellow American, but I also rooted for her as Hope's Mother.  I feel pride and get emotional when Americans win medals, and I love to hear our National Anthem and see our flag raised.  But I felt a deeper pride, and yes, cried tears of joy over Gabby's significant win as the Mother of an African American girl.  Gabby has opened the world a little wider to any little girl of color who may never have considered the sport of gymnastics to be attainable. 

Mr. Holbrook, as an older, white American male undoubtedly had many role models during his formative years that he could look to and picture himself.  He had that simply because he was born male and white.  Myself, as a white female, can also point to others who look like myself as models for accomplishment... less than Mr. Holbrook, I might mention, because history has largely chosen to focus on those white males.  My daughter, and other girls like her, needs role models too!  Women and girls of color are both underrepresented and misrepresented in many ways--historically, in the media, on television, and even in toys.  When a young woman, a real African American girl like Gabby Douglas, accomplishes such greatness she does it for herself and she does it for all girls, particularly girls like my Hope.  And I am both proud of her and grateful to her for giving my little girl a positive image that she can look to, a role model that looks like her. 

So, yesterday, through the happy wonders of Tivo, I shared with Hope Gabby's outstanding performances from Thursday night's coverage of the Gymnastics All-Around Final.  She loved Gabby's pink leotard, by the way.  :)  Hope could quickly identify Gabby out of the faces on the television, and she immediately started to cheer Gabby on, clapping and calling out, "Yeah, Gabby!"  By the time Gabby began her balance beam routine, Hope was no longer satisfied cheering her on from her seat on the couch.  Instead, Hope moved down to the floor, where she could attempt to mimic Gabby's movements as she watched.  She did this again during Gabby's final rotation, the floor exercise, which Hope watched twice (so far).  We enjoyed watching the Medal Ceremony together as well, and Hope had lots of questions about the medals, the song, and the flags.  Her big brother shared with her an old soccer medal he had, and she happily wore it around the house later, imagining, I'm sure, her own Olympic triumph.

Whatever Hope's future holds, how wonderful it would be if she could remember that she can do anything she sets her mind to, with hard work and dedication.  How wonderful it would be if she refuses any limits to her possibilities, especially those based on her gender or her skin color.  And how wonderful it will be for her to live her life embodying Gabby's words, "I give all the glory to God!"

Hope watching Gabby's Gold Medal floor exercise

performance from Thursday night.