[col. writ. 8/9/12] © ’12 Mumia Abu-Jamal neu
There is something beautiful about seeing the young athletes at the Olympics, running, jumping, flipping and strutting.
I’m not a big Olympics fan (a bit too much flag-waving for my taste), but the quadrennial sports event has become a virtual parade for a plethora of African-American, African and Jamaican athletes.
Little Grenada, a teardrop of an island in the Caribbean Sea, exulted over its first (and only!) gold medal.
And an adorable little girl captures the hearts of millions when she scores several gold medals in gymnastics.
Of course, I refer to the teenager Gabby Douglas, nicknamed “The Flying Squirrel”, who, with her strength, agility, effervescence and flashbulb of a smile, made years of hard work and bone-shattering pain look like fun.
When a friend told me the youngster was being criticized online for her hair (!), I was dumbfounded. She dismissed the flurry of discontent with a sense of maturity far beyond her years.
Said she: “Nothing is going to change. “ Umph.
For a brief, shining moment, Black girls appeared on the idiot box, not as vixens, strumpets nor rump-shakers; but as beautiful, talented young people, who dazzled with their sheer athleticism and brilliance.
Beautiful!
-© ’12 maj