Gabby Douglas, the amazing, gold-medal winning, gymnastic wonder with the magnetic smile, has made Olympic history by being the first African-American to win the gold medal in the Gymnastics All-Around final. You'd think that every community in the US, particularly the African American community, would be showing her nothing by their heartfelt pride and congratulations on her wonderful achievements.
And she's ready to do it again at the 2016 Olympics. In fact, she's looking better than ever with her soon-to-be teammate Simone Biles in a recent secret competition.
For Douglas, her recent 2015 performance will be considered a huge victory. In only her second event back as a member of the national team, Douglas finished second to Biles in the all-around, and took home the gold in her best event, the uneven bars.
"My comeback wasn’t fake, guys" Douglas said with a smile following the event.
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Douglas finished 1.9 points behind Biles, the closest any American has gotten to Biles since 2013. For Douglas, the ability to compete with someone as good as Biles has fueled her to improve.
"I love Simone, and I love how she’s a great competitor. If there were gymnasts out here doing just round-off back handspring layout, or something, the competition wouldn’t be as fun," Douglas said. "I will continue to do big gymnastics. That’s what makes it fun — the competition."
The next big competition is the P&G Championships in August, where Biles, Douglas, and Raisman will all compete. Following the event, the team for the World Championships will be chosen. The US can only send six team members, and Biles and Douglas appear to be locks to make the team.
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In her last performance, instead of applauding her truly breathtaking performances, this beautiful young lady is a hot topic in the Black community because of what? Her hair (insert sad, confused face).
Gabby looked and performed gracefully and represented not just African Americans, but...
...all Americans, in a very dignified way. But after Gabby's big win, many people took to Twitter and other social networks to criticize her hair, saying that it was was un-kept and looked unpresentable for a person on the world stage.
After Gabby won her medal and heard about the criticism, she issued a very pointed response:
READ: How To Maintain Your Hair During Exercise
“I don’t know where this is coming from. Where is it coming from? What’s wrong with my hair? I just simply gelled it back, put some clips it and put it in a bun. Are you kidding me? I just made history and you’re focusing on my hair? I just want to say we’re all beautiful inside out. Nothing is going to change,” she said, adding that her hair would remain the same in her next two competitions in bars and beams.
With this mature and dignified response, her glorious achievements are no surprise. Gabby Douglas’ hair should have never been an issue.
Black Hair & Black Health
READ: The Top Three Diseases Killing Black Women
What's most disappointing about this Gabby Douglas hair debate is that the vast majority of these pointless critiques are coming from Blacks.
Yes, it's a well-known fact that hair is something of particular importance and sensitivity for Blacks, particularly Black women. However, it's also a well-known fact that many Blacks, particularly Black women, have the highest rates of being overweight and obese compared to other groups...and there's still much speculation as to whether or not some of this is due to women being afraid to damage their hair by sweating too much.
Whether this is indeed the truth, or whether it also has to do with the fact that many African American woman are encouraged to be curvier, weight is a critical factor in many preventable illnesses, including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and even breast cancer. Sadly, African Americans suffer from all of these conditions, and more, in greater numbers that other racial groups.
Unfortunately, experts have predicted a dire future for Americans in general, saying that, if current trends continue, nearly half of Americans will be obese in the very near future.
It goes without saying that useless debates like Gabby Douglas and her hair are doing absolutely nothing to improve our health.
It's heartbreaking and outrageous that a young Black woman at the height of her athletic career, who's accomplishing feats that many of us will never imagine, is being pulled down for something as trivial as a hairstyle.
These unnecessary and cruel reactions to this beautiful athlete, instead of hurting her, only point fingers and showcase the lack of priorities that too many in the Black community have when it comes to our health.
