The threatening crowd screamed in outrage. At one point, a rock shattered a window, scattering glass over the floor. Undaunted, the speaker kept going, refusing to be shouted down by a mere mob.
The next day, the same mob burnt down that building--which had only been open for four days--while police and firemen watched.
The speaker, Angelina Grimke Weld, had been married all of two days, and would soon be expelled from her Quaker religion because she married a Presbyterian. It was only part of the price she paid for daring to be a woman that spoke out against slavery.
Angelina Grimke was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on February 20, 1805, the youngest of fourteen children. She and her sister Sarah were daughters of a wealthy plantation owner, yet, instead of remaining in their upper-class lifestyle, they chose to oppose slavery.
Angelina moved to Philadelphia in 1829, several years after Sarah. She joined the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society and began writing to newspapers, protesting slavery. She gained the attention of area abolitionists, and because she and Sarah knew about slavery from first-hand observation, they asked the sisters to join their cause.
When Sarah and Angelina began speaking in public, people were outraged because they dared to speak in front of mixed-gender crowds. In the 1830's, people were shocked to see a woman do such a thing. After Sarah was reprimanded for speaking at a Quaker meeting about the subject of abolition, she and Angelina packed up and moved to New York.
In 1835, she wrote a letter to prominent abolitionist and publisher William Lloyd Garrison, encouraging him to keep fighting for the cause. She told him to stand firm and never surrender. Without asking permission, he published her letter in his periodical, The Liberator. That was the day her career as a public figure began.
Angelina was embarrassed by her letter's publication, but apparently, her devotion to the cause was stronger. In 1836, she published Appeal to the Christian Women of the South. It was a work that not only discussed how slavery hurt blacks, but also showed how it hurt white women and the family. Southern society tolerated men having sex with their female slaves, and Angelina wrote of the result: "the faces of many black children bore silent testimony to their white fathers." She spoke from experience; her own father had sired both white and black children. When the letter was published, postmasters seized and destroyed copies and hostility rose against Angelina and Sarah. They would never again visit home.
Sarah and Angelina devoted the year of 1837 to traveling and speaking. Increasingly, they spoke to audiences that were made up of both men and women. They set themselves apart by debating with men, which startled people. On July 17, 1837, two men challenged Angelina Grimke to a debate over both slavery and a woman's right to a public voice. She accepted. An eyewitness account described Angelina as "calm, modest, and dignified," and that she "with the utmost ease brushed away the cobwebs, which her puny antagonist had thrown her way."
She married a fellow abolitionist, Theodore Weld, on May 14, 1838. It was two days later that Angelina spoke at the newly opened Pennsylvania Hall, holding the audience's attention despite the angry crowd outside. The next day, that angry mob, infuriated by the site of blacks and whites attending together, torched the building.
Angelina never spoke in public again. But she did continue to write and publish, encouraged by her husband and sister. She also taught school and had three children. She lived to see the end of slavery, dying of a stroke on October 26, 1879.
By writing, speaking, and daring to step out of the box of "conventional behavior", Angelina Grimke Weld paid the price of being persecuted and ostracized. Because she was willing to pay the cost, she contributed to the success of the abolitionist movement in the United States.
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Friday, February 12, 2016
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Black History Month: Sarah Grimke
Sarah Grimke wanted to be a lawyer. If she had been born 150 years later, she probably would have done so. As it was, the circumstances of her time kept her from the study of law.
But instead of becoming a lawyer, she became something else: one of the most powerful voices against slavery in the United States.
Sarah Moore Grimke was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on November 26, 1792, one of fourteen children. She grew up in a wealthy, privileged family; on a plantation where she saw the results of slavery first hand. But instead of following the path of most girls and young women of that time--marriage, children, and ruling over her own plantation--Sarah Grimke rejected that life. As a child, she secretly taught slave children to read, in opposition to both her family and state law.
Frustrated by the lack of opportunity for women in Charleston, Sarah made frequent visits to Philadelphia. She moved there permanently in 1821. Her sister Angelina followed her several years later. Both sisters became interested in the abolitionist movement while living in Philadelphia. They began to speak on the subject to audiences consisting of both men and women--a practice that people considered shocking. Sarah, in 1836, was reprimanded for speaking to a group of both men and women about abolition. It was the last straw for her. She and Angelina moved to New York to work with the abolitionist movement there.
Criticism of both sisters followed them to New York, but Sarah continuted to speak and to write. She would not be silenced. Because of her background as the daughter of a slaveowner, she had witnessed first-hand what plantation slaves experienced.
In 1836, Sarah wrote and published, "Epistle to the Clergy of the Southern States." In it, she challenged the clergy to understand that slavery was an offense against "divine order". She said that enslaving a human was the same as treating them as a beast. This contradicted the characterization of man as being "a little lower than the angels". She continued with arguments she derived from Scripture, and ended by calling on the church to help end slavery.
The next year, both Sarah and Angelina appeared and spoke at New York's Anti-Slavery Convention. Afterwards, they began a speaking tour in New England. In Lowell, Massachesetts, they spoke before 1500 people, both men and women, who'd come to hear them talk about the abolition of slavery. There were Massachusetts clergy who condemned them, quoting Paul, who said that "women should be silent".
In 1838, Angelina married Theodore Weld, who was also an abolitionist, and Sarah went to live with her and her new husband. They continuted to write and speak about slavery, and also entered into the subject of women's rights.
Sarah, along with her brother-in-law, published a collection of newspaper stories from Southern newspapers. In American Slavery As It Is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses, they used the actual words of white Southerners as those Southerners described escaped slaves, slave auctions, and other incidents describing the inhumanity of slavery.
Sarah, who never married, worked as a teacher in a school operated by Theodore Weld. By 1864, with the Civil War nearly over, both Grimke sisters turned their attention to the cause of women's rights. Sarah died on December 23, 1873, in Hyde Park, Massachusetts.
In comparison with her sister, Sarah was shy and not a dynamic public speaker. But her experiences and her writings make her a strong voice for the cause of abolition. She also dared to express herself not only in front of women, but in front of men also. Sarah Grimke, in speaking for the rights of slaves and the abolition of slavery, was a woman that refused to allow the conventions of the time to silence her.
Sources used:
Lockard, Joe, "An Epistle To the Clergy Of the Southern States," Antislavery Literature.
"Sarah Moore Grimke," Biography.com
Berkin, Carol, "Angelina and Sarah Grimke: Abolitionist Sisters," History Now: The Journal of the Gilder-Lehrman Institute.
"Angelina and Sarah Grimke," Young and Brave: Girls Changing History, from National Women's History Museum and Girls Learn International, Inc. website
But instead of becoming a lawyer, she became something else: one of the most powerful voices against slavery in the United States.
Sarah Moore Grimke was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on November 26, 1792, one of fourteen children. She grew up in a wealthy, privileged family; on a plantation where she saw the results of slavery first hand. But instead of following the path of most girls and young women of that time--marriage, children, and ruling over her own plantation--Sarah Grimke rejected that life. As a child, she secretly taught slave children to read, in opposition to both her family and state law.
Frustrated by the lack of opportunity for women in Charleston, Sarah made frequent visits to Philadelphia. She moved there permanently in 1821. Her sister Angelina followed her several years later. Both sisters became interested in the abolitionist movement while living in Philadelphia. They began to speak on the subject to audiences consisting of both men and women--a practice that people considered shocking. Sarah, in 1836, was reprimanded for speaking to a group of both men and women about abolition. It was the last straw for her. She and Angelina moved to New York to work with the abolitionist movement there.
Criticism of both sisters followed them to New York, but Sarah continuted to speak and to write. She would not be silenced. Because of her background as the daughter of a slaveowner, she had witnessed first-hand what plantation slaves experienced.
In 1836, Sarah wrote and published, "Epistle to the Clergy of the Southern States." In it, she challenged the clergy to understand that slavery was an offense against "divine order". She said that enslaving a human was the same as treating them as a beast. This contradicted the characterization of man as being "a little lower than the angels". She continued with arguments she derived from Scripture, and ended by calling on the church to help end slavery.
The next year, both Sarah and Angelina appeared and spoke at New York's Anti-Slavery Convention. Afterwards, they began a speaking tour in New England. In Lowell, Massachesetts, they spoke before 1500 people, both men and women, who'd come to hear them talk about the abolition of slavery. There were Massachusetts clergy who condemned them, quoting Paul, who said that "women should be silent".
In 1838, Angelina married Theodore Weld, who was also an abolitionist, and Sarah went to live with her and her new husband. They continuted to write and speak about slavery, and also entered into the subject of women's rights.
Sarah, along with her brother-in-law, published a collection of newspaper stories from Southern newspapers. In American Slavery As It Is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses, they used the actual words of white Southerners as those Southerners described escaped slaves, slave auctions, and other incidents describing the inhumanity of slavery.
Sarah, who never married, worked as a teacher in a school operated by Theodore Weld. By 1864, with the Civil War nearly over, both Grimke sisters turned their attention to the cause of women's rights. Sarah died on December 23, 1873, in Hyde Park, Massachusetts.
In comparison with her sister, Sarah was shy and not a dynamic public speaker. But her experiences and her writings make her a strong voice for the cause of abolition. She also dared to express herself not only in front of women, but in front of men also. Sarah Grimke, in speaking for the rights of slaves and the abolition of slavery, was a woman that refused to allow the conventions of the time to silence her.
Sources used:
Lockard, Joe, "An Epistle To the Clergy Of the Southern States," Antislavery Literature.
"Sarah Moore Grimke," Biography.com
Berkin, Carol, "Angelina and Sarah Grimke: Abolitionist Sisters," History Now: The Journal of the Gilder-Lehrman Institute.
"Angelina and Sarah Grimke," Young and Brave: Girls Changing History, from National Women's History Museum and Girls Learn International, Inc. website
Black History Month: Phillis Wheatley
When she was 14, she published her first book of poetry.
Before that, she learned Latin and Greek, theology, and ancient history; as well as mythology and literature.
Did I mention that her poetry book was published in 1773, and that the author was a slave?
Her name was Phillis Wheatley. We don't know the actual date or place of her birth, only that she was probably born in Senegal/Gambia about 1753. Some biographers think that she may have been a Fula, a Muslim people who read Arabic. In 1761, she was likely kidnapped and taken into slavery. She arrived in Boston, Massachusetts that year on a slave slip called "The Phillis". There, she was bought by a couple, John and Susannah Wheatley, and became Susannah's personal servant. They gave her a new name, Phillis Wheatley. Her first name came from the ship that brought her to Boston; her last name became that of her owners.
I can only imagine what thoughts this little girl was having. She was around seven or eight years old, taken from her native land, probably chained in the ship's hold--or, at the least, transported in horrible circumstances--then hauled up onto an auction block, inspected, eyed, ogled, and finally, after the words, "Going once, going twice, sold!", delivered into the hands of a master. She had no idea how he was going to treat her. Would he whip her? Rape her?
Apparently, John and Susannah saw something in this young girl. The Wheatley's daughter Mary began teaching her English, and Phillis learned very quickly. Less than a year and a half later, she was reading difficult passages in the Bible. She started studying Latin and English literature when she was 12.
For a white, male 12-year-old, these would be major accomplishments. For a white, female, 12-year-old, it would be unheard of. For a 12-year-old female slave? Impossible!
Except it wasn't.
Wheatley started writing poetry. When she was around 13, the Newport Mercury published her first poem, about two men who nearly drowned at sea. As she grew up, her owners would show her off to their friends, who called her a "lively and brilliant conversationalist". While the Wheatleys appreciated her and her talents, Phillis Wheatley would never be considered their social equal. She was a privileged slave, but still a slave. The white world gave Wheatley her "place" in that society.
When Wheatley was 20, her owners sent her and their son Nathaniel to England. She wrote a poem to Mrs. Wheatley: "Susannah mourns, not can I bear,/ To see the crystal shower, /Or mark the tender falling tear, /At sad departure's hour." The lines show Phillis' affection for her mistress.
While Wheatley was in England, she published her first and only book of poetry, "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral," and dedicated it to her English patron, Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon. The volume included a statement from John Wheatley and a preface where 17 prominent Bostonians, including John Hancock, said that she, indeed, had written the included poems.
When Phillis Wheatley published her book of poems, she became the first African-American and first American slave to publish poetry, and only the third American woman to do so. She continued to write after her book was published. She wrote several poems honoring George Washington, and sent one of them to him in 1775. He invited her to visit him at his headquarters, she accepted, and visited him in 1776.
Although Wheatley's poetry won her fame, she faced serious struggles in her later life. She suffered from poor health all her life, and one of the reasons she traveled to London was to be treated for her health problems. But she had to return from London in 1774 due to the death of Susannah Wheatley. Susannah's husband John died just four years later. And when the Revolutionary War broke out, it took front and center stage in the United States, and because her patrons had British connections, that made it impossible for them to support and promote her poetry. Wheatley, ultimately, was unable to publish another collection of her poems.
Wheatley became a free woman upon the death of her masters. She eventually married John Peters and had three children. While she continued to write poetry, she lived in poverty, and all three of her children died in infancy. She was around 31 when she died in Boston, on December 5, 1784.
Phillis Wheatley has been criticized for adopting a "white voice" and abandoning her own race. But she had to walk the line between her feelings, her patrons, her readers, and the God in whom she strongly believed. Alice Walker, among other African-American feminist poets, claims Phillis Wheatley as an inspiration.
Her slavery was tragic, and so was her life after slavery. And her history as a slave was a unique one, one not experienced by the vast majority of slaves. But she used her position to write and to publish, and thus secured for herself a special place in African-American history.
Sources used:
"Phillis Wheatley", Biography.com
Virginia Commonwealth University, Ann Woodlief's Web Study Texts, "On Phillis Wheatley".
Before that, she learned Latin and Greek, theology, and ancient history; as well as mythology and literature.
Did I mention that her poetry book was published in 1773, and that the author was a slave?
Her name was Phillis Wheatley. We don't know the actual date or place of her birth, only that she was probably born in Senegal/Gambia about 1753. Some biographers think that she may have been a Fula, a Muslim people who read Arabic. In 1761, she was likely kidnapped and taken into slavery. She arrived in Boston, Massachusetts that year on a slave slip called "The Phillis". There, she was bought by a couple, John and Susannah Wheatley, and became Susannah's personal servant. They gave her a new name, Phillis Wheatley. Her first name came from the ship that brought her to Boston; her last name became that of her owners.
I can only imagine what thoughts this little girl was having. She was around seven or eight years old, taken from her native land, probably chained in the ship's hold--or, at the least, transported in horrible circumstances--then hauled up onto an auction block, inspected, eyed, ogled, and finally, after the words, "Going once, going twice, sold!", delivered into the hands of a master. She had no idea how he was going to treat her. Would he whip her? Rape her?
Apparently, John and Susannah saw something in this young girl. The Wheatley's daughter Mary began teaching her English, and Phillis learned very quickly. Less than a year and a half later, she was reading difficult passages in the Bible. She started studying Latin and English literature when she was 12.
For a white, male 12-year-old, these would be major accomplishments. For a white, female, 12-year-old, it would be unheard of. For a 12-year-old female slave? Impossible!
Except it wasn't.
Wheatley started writing poetry. When she was around 13, the Newport Mercury published her first poem, about two men who nearly drowned at sea. As she grew up, her owners would show her off to their friends, who called her a "lively and brilliant conversationalist". While the Wheatleys appreciated her and her talents, Phillis Wheatley would never be considered their social equal. She was a privileged slave, but still a slave. The white world gave Wheatley her "place" in that society.
When Wheatley was 20, her owners sent her and their son Nathaniel to England. She wrote a poem to Mrs. Wheatley: "Susannah mourns, not can I bear,/ To see the crystal shower, /Or mark the tender falling tear, /At sad departure's hour." The lines show Phillis' affection for her mistress.
While Wheatley was in England, she published her first and only book of poetry, "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral," and dedicated it to her English patron, Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon. The volume included a statement from John Wheatley and a preface where 17 prominent Bostonians, including John Hancock, said that she, indeed, had written the included poems.
When Phillis Wheatley published her book of poems, she became the first African-American and first American slave to publish poetry, and only the third American woman to do so. She continued to write after her book was published. She wrote several poems honoring George Washington, and sent one of them to him in 1775. He invited her to visit him at his headquarters, she accepted, and visited him in 1776.
Although Wheatley's poetry won her fame, she faced serious struggles in her later life. She suffered from poor health all her life, and one of the reasons she traveled to London was to be treated for her health problems. But she had to return from London in 1774 due to the death of Susannah Wheatley. Susannah's husband John died just four years later. And when the Revolutionary War broke out, it took front and center stage in the United States, and because her patrons had British connections, that made it impossible for them to support and promote her poetry. Wheatley, ultimately, was unable to publish another collection of her poems.
Wheatley became a free woman upon the death of her masters. She eventually married John Peters and had three children. While she continued to write poetry, she lived in poverty, and all three of her children died in infancy. She was around 31 when she died in Boston, on December 5, 1784.
Phillis Wheatley has been criticized for adopting a "white voice" and abandoning her own race. But she had to walk the line between her feelings, her patrons, her readers, and the God in whom she strongly believed. Alice Walker, among other African-American feminist poets, claims Phillis Wheatley as an inspiration.
Her slavery was tragic, and so was her life after slavery. And her history as a slave was a unique one, one not experienced by the vast majority of slaves. But she used her position to write and to publish, and thus secured for herself a special place in African-American history.
Sources used:
"Phillis Wheatley", Biography.com
Virginia Commonwealth University, Ann Woodlief's Web Study Texts, "On Phillis Wheatley".
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Monday, February 8, 2016
Black History Month: Anthony Benezet
The American abolitionist movement owes much to the decision of the Benezet family to uproot themselves from France.
The Benezets were a well-to-do Huguenot (Protestant) family living in Saint-Quentin, France, when their son Anthony was born on January 31, 1713. Anthony was just two when the family moved to Holland in order to escape religious persecution. Later, they went to London, where Anthony was educated and became a Quaker, a member of the Society of Friends.
In 1731, the Benezets immigrated to Philadelphia, and the sons of the family went into the merchant business. He married a few years later, and then decided to become a teacher. Not only did he teach students in the daytime, he began an evening class for poor black children in his own home. When he saw his students' accomplishments, he knew that the myth of racial inequality was just that, a myth. He taught these children until 1770, when, with the help of the Society of Friends, he started a school for them in Philadelphia.
Until 1755, Benezet taught in a Quaker school. He was not only concerned about the education black children received; he was very distressed by the inferior education given to women. So, in 1755, he started the first public girls' school in America. One young girl, deaf and mute, was a special recipient of Benezet's compassion. He designed a special program for her so that she, too, could be part of his school.
Perhaps it was compassion and empathy, brought about by his family's experience with religious persecution and his own interactions with children considered "inferior", that drew him into the abolitionist movement. He read and heard reports from people who traveled. A Quaker minister, John Woolman, also influenced him to become concerned about slavery. Benezet started writing to English abolitionists, and he also wrote pieces for newspapers and almanacs on the subject.
Benezet, in his work, insisted on the equality of all people. He wrote: "I can with truth and sincerity declare, that I have found amongst the negroes as great a variety of talents as amongst a like number of whites; and I am bold to assert, that the notion entertained by some, that the blacks are inferior in their capacities, is a vulgar prejudice, founded on the pride of ignorance of their lordly masters, who have kept their slaves at such a distance, as to be unable to form a right judgment of them."
Benezet continued to write, and many years later, English abolitionist Thomas Clarkson read his writings. Clarkson was researching abolitionist works at the time, and said that in Benezet's publications, "I found almost all I wanted."
On May 3, 1784, Anthony Benezet died in Philadelphia. He left money to continue the work of teaching black children and also to support the fight for justice of those illegally held as slaves.
He wished to be buried in an unmarked grave., and his wish was granted. However, he did not die unmourned. Hundreds, representing all religions and races, came to pay their respects. It was a fitting tribute to a life that was characterized by both compassion for those discriminated against and persecuted and the desire and determination to do something about it.
Sources used:
"Anthony Benezet (1713-1784)", The Abolition Project website
Anthony Benezet Facts," Yourdictionary.com
The Benezets were a well-to-do Huguenot (Protestant) family living in Saint-Quentin, France, when their son Anthony was born on January 31, 1713. Anthony was just two when the family moved to Holland in order to escape religious persecution. Later, they went to London, where Anthony was educated and became a Quaker, a member of the Society of Friends.
In 1731, the Benezets immigrated to Philadelphia, and the sons of the family went into the merchant business. He married a few years later, and then decided to become a teacher. Not only did he teach students in the daytime, he began an evening class for poor black children in his own home. When he saw his students' accomplishments, he knew that the myth of racial inequality was just that, a myth. He taught these children until 1770, when, with the help of the Society of Friends, he started a school for them in Philadelphia.
Until 1755, Benezet taught in a Quaker school. He was not only concerned about the education black children received; he was very distressed by the inferior education given to women. So, in 1755, he started the first public girls' school in America. One young girl, deaf and mute, was a special recipient of Benezet's compassion. He designed a special program for her so that she, too, could be part of his school.
Perhaps it was compassion and empathy, brought about by his family's experience with religious persecution and his own interactions with children considered "inferior", that drew him into the abolitionist movement. He read and heard reports from people who traveled. A Quaker minister, John Woolman, also influenced him to become concerned about slavery. Benezet started writing to English abolitionists, and he also wrote pieces for newspapers and almanacs on the subject.
Benezet, in his work, insisted on the equality of all people. He wrote: "I can with truth and sincerity declare, that I have found amongst the negroes as great a variety of talents as amongst a like number of whites; and I am bold to assert, that the notion entertained by some, that the blacks are inferior in their capacities, is a vulgar prejudice, founded on the pride of ignorance of their lordly masters, who have kept their slaves at such a distance, as to be unable to form a right judgment of them."
Benezet continued to write, and many years later, English abolitionist Thomas Clarkson read his writings. Clarkson was researching abolitionist works at the time, and said that in Benezet's publications, "I found almost all I wanted."
On May 3, 1784, Anthony Benezet died in Philadelphia. He left money to continue the work of teaching black children and also to support the fight for justice of those illegally held as slaves.
He wished to be buried in an unmarked grave., and his wish was granted. However, he did not die unmourned. Hundreds, representing all religions and races, came to pay their respects. It was a fitting tribute to a life that was characterized by both compassion for those discriminated against and persecuted and the desire and determination to do something about it.
Sources used:
"Anthony Benezet (1713-1784)", The Abolition Project website
Anthony Benezet Facts," Yourdictionary.com
Black History Month: Debi Thomas
Sadly, Debi Thomas has been in the news lately for being broke and unemployed.
Which is a shame, given her accomplishments as figure skater and doctor.
Debra Janine Thomas was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, on March 25, 1967. When she was five years old, she strapped on a pair of ice skates and started skating. By the time she was nine, she was taking formal lessons and winning skating competitions. When she was ten years old, Alex McGowan became her coach, and he was responsible for shaping her career as she headed for the Olympic Games.
Judges often discriminated against Thomas when scoring her routines, giving higher scores to skaters with skills not as impressive. But she kept going. At 12, in the national novice finals, she won the silver medal.
Thomas kept skating and studying. In February, 1986--while studying engineering at Stanford University--she won the US Figure Skating Championships, becoming the first African-American to do so. Shortly afterwards, she won the world figure skating championship--again, the first African-American to do so.
She won the US Championships again in 1988 and was favored to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics that year. Thomas and and figure skater Katarina Witt, from East Germany, both used the music from the opera Carmen in their long program, leading the sports media to dub Thomas' and Witt's rivalry the "Battle of the Carmens". Thomas, unfortunately, lost that battle to Witt. Witt won the gold medal; Thomas, the bronze. Thomas' bronze medal was the first earned by any African-American, male or female, in a Winter Olympics; a fact that the sports media seemed to gloss over.
Thomas had gotten married just a few days before the Olympics in 1988. The newly married skater went on to earn her bachelor's from Stanford in 1991. The next year, she retired from skating and entered medical school at Northwestern University. When she graduated in 1997, she decided to become an orthopedic surgeon. Over the next years, she did a residency at Charles R. Drew University in Los Angeles, and received a fellowship at the Dorr Arthritis Institute, located in Inglewood.
She opened her own practice in Virginia in 2010, doing knee and hip replacements.
As a skater, Thomas received much recognition, being inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2000, and being a representative for the U.S. Olympic Committee at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. She also supported several charities, such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
So what happened? What went wrong?
Her first marriage ended in divorce, Thomas said, because he "felt lost" in the middle of her fame. A second marriage also ended in divorce, and she lost custody of her son from that marriage.
As a doctor, she lost two jobs, then opened up her own practice. The second divorce caused her to lose her savings, and forced her to close her private practice.
Thomas' struggles are not uncommon for athletes and others who were once in the spotlight. Any athlete needs not only physical strength and conditioning, but mental toughness as well. Debi Thomas had both during her years in figure skating. If she can summon up the mental toughness she had in those days, chances are that she can once again come out on top.
Sources used:
McRady, Rachel, "Olympic Figure Skater Debi Thomas Reveals She's Broke, Jobless," Us Magazine, November 9, 2015
"Debi Thomas," Biography.com website.
Capretto, Lisa, "How an Olympic Icon Ended Up Living In A Bug-Infested Trailer," Huffington Post website, November 6, 2015
Which is a shame, given her accomplishments as figure skater and doctor.
Debra Janine Thomas was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, on March 25, 1967. When she was five years old, she strapped on a pair of ice skates and started skating. By the time she was nine, she was taking formal lessons and winning skating competitions. When she was ten years old, Alex McGowan became her coach, and he was responsible for shaping her career as she headed for the Olympic Games.
Judges often discriminated against Thomas when scoring her routines, giving higher scores to skaters with skills not as impressive. But she kept going. At 12, in the national novice finals, she won the silver medal.
Thomas kept skating and studying. In February, 1986--while studying engineering at Stanford University--she won the US Figure Skating Championships, becoming the first African-American to do so. Shortly afterwards, she won the world figure skating championship--again, the first African-American to do so.
She won the US Championships again in 1988 and was favored to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics that year. Thomas and and figure skater Katarina Witt, from East Germany, both used the music from the opera Carmen in their long program, leading the sports media to dub Thomas' and Witt's rivalry the "Battle of the Carmens". Thomas, unfortunately, lost that battle to Witt. Witt won the gold medal; Thomas, the bronze. Thomas' bronze medal was the first earned by any African-American, male or female, in a Winter Olympics; a fact that the sports media seemed to gloss over.
Thomas had gotten married just a few days before the Olympics in 1988. The newly married skater went on to earn her bachelor's from Stanford in 1991. The next year, she retired from skating and entered medical school at Northwestern University. When she graduated in 1997, she decided to become an orthopedic surgeon. Over the next years, she did a residency at Charles R. Drew University in Los Angeles, and received a fellowship at the Dorr Arthritis Institute, located in Inglewood.
She opened her own practice in Virginia in 2010, doing knee and hip replacements.
As a skater, Thomas received much recognition, being inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2000, and being a representative for the U.S. Olympic Committee at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. She also supported several charities, such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
So what happened? What went wrong?
Her first marriage ended in divorce, Thomas said, because he "felt lost" in the middle of her fame. A second marriage also ended in divorce, and she lost custody of her son from that marriage.
As a doctor, she lost two jobs, then opened up her own practice. The second divorce caused her to lose her savings, and forced her to close her private practice.
Thomas' struggles are not uncommon for athletes and others who were once in the spotlight. Any athlete needs not only physical strength and conditioning, but mental toughness as well. Debi Thomas had both during her years in figure skating. If she can summon up the mental toughness she had in those days, chances are that she can once again come out on top.
Sources used:
McRady, Rachel, "Olympic Figure Skater Debi Thomas Reveals She's Broke, Jobless," Us Magazine, November 9, 2015
"Debi Thomas," Biography.com website.
Capretto, Lisa, "How an Olympic Icon Ended Up Living In A Bug-Infested Trailer," Huffington Post website, November 6, 2015
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Black History Month: Dominique Dawes
Dominique Dawes got her first piece of fan mail when she was 11 years old. She'd been competing as a gymnast for about a year.
During her career as a gymnast, she didn't realize the impact she was making among young African-American girls.
She does now. In a 2008 interview, she said, "I compare it to -- of course, it's not as big of a deal, but -- Tiger playing golf or the Williams sisters in tennis. Being there on that stage and having young girls see a diverse team is what allows that sport to be seen as an opportunity for them because they see Tiger, or Venus, or me or someone who looks like them finding success."
Dominique Dawes got one thing wrong in that interview.
It is as big of a deal.
Dominique Margaux Dawes was born on November 20, 1976, in Silver Spring, Maryland. (Just four months previously, Nadia Comaneci had wowed the world with the first perfect scores in Olympic gymnastics history.) She started taking gymnastics lessons when she was six years old. The woman who coached her, Kelli Hill, remained Dawes' coach for her entire career. Dawes says of her coach, "I wouldn't be where I am without her support and guidance . . . She made me focus on the things I had control of and everything else was just put aside in a stack -- everything from how to judges felt about me to the temperature of the gym. She was very big on instilling that lesson."
Dawes, at nine, would write "determination" on her mirror to prepare herself for her meets. That attitude paid off as she moved upward in the world of gymnastics.
In 1988, she was the first African-American to make the US woman's national gymnastics team. Then four years later -- just five years after her very first gymnastics meet -- she and Betty Okino became the first African-American women to compete in the Olympic Games for the United States. She took home a bronze team medal.
Two years later, at the National Championships, Dawes was the first woman in 25 years to "sweep the board". She won the all-around and all four individual events (balance beam, uneven bars, vault, and floor exercise.) That accomplishment helped name her "Sportsperson of the Year" by USA Gymnastics.
She competed in the Olympics again, in 1996, as part of the "Magnificent Seven" team that won the gold medal, the first US women's gymnastics team to do so. But during the all-around competition, a fall and a step out of bounds cost Dawes the chance to win an individual medal there. She rebounded during the individual floor exercise event, however, and ended up winning the bronze medal. It was the first individual gymnastics medal won by an African-American woman.
Four years later, in Sydney, Dawes again competed as part of the American team. The team finished fourth. Ten years later, though, after an investigation, the US team was moved up to third place when a Chinese gymnast was found to be underage. The Chinese had won the team bronze in 2000. When the Chinese had to give up the bronze medal, the medals went to the United States team . . . which meant that Dominique Dawes became the first gymnast to belong to three separate medal-winning gymnastics teams.
Dawes retired from gymnastics after the 2000 Olympics. Since then, she's been a motivational speaker and appeared on Broadway in the musical Grease. She married teacher Jeff Thompson in 2013 and, in 2014, they had a baby girl.
Dawes will not rest on her laurels. She says, "If you're just like, 'Hey, I won a gold medal and I have three Olympics under my belt and I broke down barriers,' and you do nothing else, it means nothing."
"Not as big of a deal"?
Not a chance!
Buckheit, Mary, "Catching Up With Dominique Dawes," ESPN.com, February 27, 2008
"Dominique Dawes", Biography.com
Wilson, Stephen, "Former US Olympian Dominique Dawes Gets Medal 10 Years Later," Christian Science Monitor online, April 30, 2010.
"Newly Catholic Dominique Dawes Is Expecting a Baby Girl," Belly Itch Blog, February 8, 2014.
During her career as a gymnast, she didn't realize the impact she was making among young African-American girls.
She does now. In a 2008 interview, she said, "I compare it to -- of course, it's not as big of a deal, but -- Tiger playing golf or the Williams sisters in tennis. Being there on that stage and having young girls see a diverse team is what allows that sport to be seen as an opportunity for them because they see Tiger, or Venus, or me or someone who looks like them finding success."
Dominique Dawes got one thing wrong in that interview.
It is as big of a deal.
Dominique Margaux Dawes was born on November 20, 1976, in Silver Spring, Maryland. (Just four months previously, Nadia Comaneci had wowed the world with the first perfect scores in Olympic gymnastics history.) She started taking gymnastics lessons when she was six years old. The woman who coached her, Kelli Hill, remained Dawes' coach for her entire career. Dawes says of her coach, "I wouldn't be where I am without her support and guidance . . . She made me focus on the things I had control of and everything else was just put aside in a stack -- everything from how to judges felt about me to the temperature of the gym. She was very big on instilling that lesson."
Dawes, at nine, would write "determination" on her mirror to prepare herself for her meets. That attitude paid off as she moved upward in the world of gymnastics.
In 1988, she was the first African-American to make the US woman's national gymnastics team. Then four years later -- just five years after her very first gymnastics meet -- she and Betty Okino became the first African-American women to compete in the Olympic Games for the United States. She took home a bronze team medal.
Two years later, at the National Championships, Dawes was the first woman in 25 years to "sweep the board". She won the all-around and all four individual events (balance beam, uneven bars, vault, and floor exercise.) That accomplishment helped name her "Sportsperson of the Year" by USA Gymnastics.
She competed in the Olympics again, in 1996, as part of the "Magnificent Seven" team that won the gold medal, the first US women's gymnastics team to do so. But during the all-around competition, a fall and a step out of bounds cost Dawes the chance to win an individual medal there. She rebounded during the individual floor exercise event, however, and ended up winning the bronze medal. It was the first individual gymnastics medal won by an African-American woman.
Four years later, in Sydney, Dawes again competed as part of the American team. The team finished fourth. Ten years later, though, after an investigation, the US team was moved up to third place when a Chinese gymnast was found to be underage. The Chinese had won the team bronze in 2000. When the Chinese had to give up the bronze medal, the medals went to the United States team . . . which meant that Dominique Dawes became the first gymnast to belong to three separate medal-winning gymnastics teams.
Dawes retired from gymnastics after the 2000 Olympics. Since then, she's been a motivational speaker and appeared on Broadway in the musical Grease. She married teacher Jeff Thompson in 2013 and, in 2014, they had a baby girl.
Dawes will not rest on her laurels. She says, "If you're just like, 'Hey, I won a gold medal and I have three Olympics under my belt and I broke down barriers,' and you do nothing else, it means nothing."
"Not as big of a deal"?
Not a chance!
Buckheit, Mary, "Catching Up With Dominique Dawes," ESPN.com, February 27, 2008
"Dominique Dawes", Biography.com
Wilson, Stephen, "Former US Olympian Dominique Dawes Gets Medal 10 Years Later," Christian Science Monitor online, April 30, 2010.
"Newly Catholic Dominique Dawes Is Expecting a Baby Girl," Belly Itch Blog, February 8, 2014.
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