Gabby Douglas: She is Not Her Hair
In my last post in Deep Waters , I raved about Gabby Douglas. After watching her Olympic Gold performances and her even more inspiring interviews with reporters, I had to be the 4'11", 90-pound powerhouse's biggest fan. Perhaps I still am. This 16-year-old's courage to leave her home and family in Virginia to train in Iowa exceeds that of most adults I know. ...Her courage to shine and smile her way through the ups and downs of life on the uneven bars, the balance beam and the floor exercises of the Olympics, even when she'd lost her winning streak. ...And her courage to face the criticism and questions in cyberspace about her family's financial state, her absent father and worse of all -- her hair. The ignorance that I've seen from others, mostly African Americans, about Gabby's hair, brought to mind a favorite song of mine by R&B recording artist India.Arie... "I Am Not My Hair" Little girl with the press and curl