Episode # 125

It’s Time to NOT Watch the Olympics

After what seemed like five years rolled into one in 2020, it’s hard to believe that we are now approximately halfway through 2021. We hope that our earlier summer episodes have given you all some ways to practically and intentionally think differently about small, yet impactful, decisions that we make as part of our everyday lives.

But as we think of summer, we also think about the Summer Olympics. In general, we love everything about them - the athletics, the camaraderie, the national pride, the international nature. Really, we love it all.

But what we don’t love about the Olympics this year (besides holding it during a global pandemic) is how Black athletes, and in particular, Black female athletes, have been treated even prior to a single Olympic event happening (and, at the time that we recorded this, it’s still unsure how and if events will happen as planned). We’re breaking down that disparate treatment in today’s episode, along with our thoughts about how best to show your support (the title is probably a spoiler alert there).

“Understanding the history of why these laws are in place is really, really crucial to understanding who they were meant to penalize in the first place and why we still have them.” Misasha

What to listen for:

The stories of Sha’Carri Richardson, Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi of Namibia, the Soul Cap, and other stories from this year’s Olympics that make it clear that Black athletes are being treated differently
How the Olympics isn’t really about humanity and celebration of achievement, but about chasing dollars (or whatever currency you use!).
Our view of what you can do to make change: consider not watching the Olympics this year.

Where to pre-order Dear White Women: Let’s Get (Un)comfortable Talking About Racism: https://thecollectivebook.studio/dear-white-women

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