Black and White Women Far From Equal Under Title IX
Last week, 20 African-American women with various connections to athletics met in Harlem at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. This was a private event - no stage, no audience - but a gathering of accomplished, like-minded women who had come to tackle the vexing issues of gender and race. The topic was “What’s Not Being Said About the Title IX Anniversary.”
They were diverse. There was an 88-year-old grandmother and a 21-year-old recent college graduate. They were executives of sports foundations and nonprofit groups. A lawyer, a psychologist, coaches, recently retired athletes and grass-roots organizers. They talked about their experiences - and lack of experience - in sports. But the overriding question of the evening was how to widen sports opportunities for black girls when access increasingly hinges on financial resources and a steep time commitment from parents.
This month marks the 40th anniversary of Title IX of the Education Amendments becoming law. On June 23, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon signed into law the statute known as Title IX, which declared, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”
This legislation has been monumental in women’s and girls’ sports participation. But the focus of Title IX has been gender equity, not racial equity in women’s sports. The most glaring outcome of the legislation is that white women - as athletes and administrators - have been the overwhelming beneficiaries.
“My idea was to make sure that we tell our own story,” said Tina Sloan Green, the co-founder and president of the Black Women in Sport Foundation, based in Philadelphia. Sloan Green was the first black head coach in women’s college lacrosse, at Temple, from 1973 to 1992. “If we don’t advocate for black women, who will we have to be the first to advocate for ourselves? We have to be the first ones at the table. We have to have some proactive measure for making sure there is increased numbers of African-Americans. We’ve got to take charge of our agenda.”
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you can read the entire article at the source
They were diverse. There was an 88-year-old grandmother and a 21-year-old recent college graduate. They were executives of sports foundations and nonprofit groups. A lawyer, a psychologist, coaches, recently retired athletes and grass-roots organizers. They talked about their experiences - and lack of experience - in sports. But the overriding question of the evening was how to widen sports opportunities for black girls when access increasingly hinges on financial resources and a steep time commitment from parents.
This month marks the 40th anniversary of Title IX of the Education Amendments becoming law. On June 23, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon signed into law the statute known as Title IX, which declared, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”
This legislation has been monumental in women’s and girls’ sports participation. But the focus of Title IX has been gender equity, not racial equity in women’s sports. The most glaring outcome of the legislation is that white women - as athletes and administrators - have been the overwhelming beneficiaries.
“My idea was to make sure that we tell our own story,” said Tina Sloan Green, the co-founder and president of the Black Women in Sport Foundation, based in Philadelphia. Sloan Green was the first black head coach in women’s college lacrosse, at Temple, from 1973 to 1992. “If we don’t advocate for black women, who will we have to be the first to advocate for ourselves? We have to be the first ones at the table. We have to have some proactive measure for making sure there is increased numbers of African-Americans. We’ve got to take charge of our agenda.”
________________
you can read the entire article at the source