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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAlice Coachman dies- first African American woman to win Olympic gold in 1948
http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-alice-coachman-davis-20140717-story.html<snip>
As the gold medal winner in the high jump at the 1948 Olympics in London, Alice Coachman came home to a celebratory welcome, including a parade in her home town of Albany, Ga.
But Coachman was not permitted to speak at the ceremony. And the mayor did not shake her hand.
The town's problem with Coachman had nothing to do with her athletic achievement or her character. It was the color of her skin.
Coachman, who was the first African American woman to win an Olympic gold medal, died Monday in Albany, said her son, Richmond Davis, who said she had been undergoing treatment for a stroke. She was believed to be 90.
To come back home to your own country, your own state and your own city, and you can't get a handshake from the mayor? Wasn't a good feeling. - Alice Coachman
Coachman, whose married name was Davis, was not surprised at the behavior of city officials during the era of segregation in the South. She was all too familiar with unjust treatment.
As a girl, she was not permitted to use public sports facilities, forcing her to improvise. She used rope or tied rags together to substitute for proper crossbars when she practiced high-jumping. And instead of running on a track, Coachman ran on rural trails, usually barefoot because her family could not afford sports shoes.
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/aug/11/archive-1948-olympics-alice-coachman-first-black-woman-gold
Nice Read
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She was very well known in Jamaica because Arthur Wint also won our first gold medal at those London Olympics and they both broke records.
Demit
(11,238 posts)malaise
(269,157 posts)Hers was a story rarely told
Sissyk
(12,665 posts)I didn't know her, but wish I could have sit with her and just listen to all the life stories I'm sure she had to tell.
Rest in peace!
Thanks, malaise!
malaise
(269,157 posts)I'm not where I can watch right now but I just bookmarked to watch later.
suffragette
(12,232 posts)What a hard and long road she had to take to this achievement, first in the training as noted in your post, then because two Olympics were cancelled because of WWII.
It speaks to her determination and passion.
Then to have the people celebrating your victory not shake your hand or even sign their names to cards on the flowers they have sent. And to be the first to accomplish such a feat, but then have to work "a series of dead-end jobs, including working as a housekeeper." All because of prejudice.
From here, it notes how women in her life nurtured her young dreams and talent:
http://www.nwhm.org/education-resources/biography/biographies/alice-coachman/
Her parents had hesitations about encouraging a girl to be athletic, but she found support in her fifth grade teacher at Monroe Street Elementary School, Cora Bailey. Outside of school, her aunt, Carrie Spry, helped her to look beyond her obstacles.
Thank you, malaise, for the opportunity to celebrate her life and the lives of those who supported her in in pursuing her goal.
malaise
(269,157 posts)Never forget what the great Jesse Owens faced - they had him running against animals.
suffragette
(12,232 posts)never forget how vile and cruel an infection racism is, then and now.