It has come to light that at a gymnastic event last year in Ireland, the only Black child in a line-up to receive medals was completely ignored.
As well, the event’s staff tried to cover up the slight by saying the “medals became tangled.” However this clip illustrates that this was not the case. The little girl was passed over and forced to watch her team-mates receive medals. What message does such behaviour send? That no matter how hard you work, if you’re Black you’ll get nowhere? That if you’re a Black girl, you’re not important?
I’m glad this was caught on film and exposed for the bigoted behaviour that it was. What a dreadful way to treat a child. It took a year before Gymnastics Ireland apologized to the family, and even then only because the clip went viral. There has been international support for the child and her parents. For example, the gymnastic great, Simone Biles, and others such as Olympics human rights supporter Harry Edwards (well known sociology professor) made public comments and also reached out.
For the full story, please read The Guardian article.
Here is another clip.