It is February, and along with Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, and Ash Wednesday (14th, 15th, 17th) it’s Black History Month. And Exclusivity Magazine is recognizing those who have paved the way for us with our “Living History” series.
Far too often our pioneers are honored posthumously or they are so well-known that every media outlet is covering them for Black History Month. Not saying we shouldn’t honor these people as well, but we rarely see African Americans honored who are currently living and who get very little publicity for their accomplishments. Since we are a publication that seeks out new and fresh faces, let’s honor those who are breaking ground and shattering glass ceilings today. Let’s honor those who we have experienced making history in our lifetime. XI is shedding light on blacks who are behind-the-scenes and opening doors for all of us and generations to come.
With the Winter Olympic Games beginning next week, we are kicking off our “Living History” series with Olympians Vonetta Flowers and Cullen Jones.
Vonetta Flowers: 1st person of African descent – male or female, from any country – to win a gold medal in the Winter Olympics.
Vonetta Flowers always had a penchant for sports when she joined her elementary school’s track and field team with dreams of someday competing in the Summer Olympics. In 1992, Vonetta graduated from P.D. Jackson Olin High School, where she participated in track and field, volleyball and basketball. Vonetta accepted a track and field scholarship to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, becoming the 1st in her family to attend college. Vonetta soon became one of the university’s most decorated athletes and its 1st seven-time All-American, with 35 conference titles and victories in the Penn Relays and The Olympic Festival.
In both 1996 and 2000, Vonetta qualified for the Summer Olympic Trials. At the 1996 trials, she competed in the 100 meter dash and the long jump but was unsuccessful in her quest to earn a spot on the team. Vonetta spent the next four years focusing all of her energy on training for an opportunity to compete at the 2000 Olympics in the long jump. She hoped to have an outstanding performance at the 2000 Olympic Trials, but just a few months before the trials began, Vonetta found herself getting ready for her 5th surgery in 8 years. Against all odds, she believed in herself and decided to lace up her spikes one last time, but it wasn’t meant to be. After a disappointing performance at the 2000 trials, Vonetta felt it was time to retire from track and field.
Two days after the 2000 Olympic Trials, Vonetta’s husband, Johnny (quite the track and field athlete himself), spotted a flyer urging track and field athletes to tryout for the U.S. bobsled team. Not knowing much about bobsledding, her chances seemed slim and the idea of actually making the team became more amusing than reality. Thinking it over, she agreed to accompany Johnny as he tried out for the team, giving up on her lifelong dream of winning Olympic gold. Shortly after the competition started, Johnny pulled his hamstring. Vonetta decided to step in and complete the six-item test for a chance to compete. Her unselfish act quickly changed their lives.
Less than 2 months after the trials, Vonetta was traveling to foreign countries for the U.S. in the bobsled category. Her track and field background was an advantage in bobsled, and Vonetta quickly became the #1 brake woman in the U.S. By the end of her rookie season, Vonetta and her former teammate, Bonny Warner, were ranked 2nd in the US and 3rd in the world. A year later, on February 19, 2002, Vonetta and her new partner, Jill Bakken, slid into history books winning the gold medal in the 2002 Winter Olympics. It was the inaugural Women’s Olympic bobsled event, and the 1st medal earned for a U.S. bobsled team in 46 years.
In less than 1 minute 48 seconds, tears of joy flowed, because the young woman from Birmingham, Alabama who dared to try an untraditional sport had left her permanent foot prints in the snow by becoming the 1st person of African descent to win a gold medal in the Winter Olympics. In only 18 months after answering the ad, she earned Olympic gold and shattered the racial barrier in the process.
Eight years after making history, Vonetta (who has since retired from the sport) will join Joe Biden’s delegation tomorrow as she travels to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games beginning February 12th.
Cullen Jones: 1st African American to hold and share a world record (4×100 m freestyle relay) in swimming, 2nd African American in history to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming, and the 3rd African American to make the U.S. Olympic swimming team.
Cullen Jones wanted to shatter stereotypes one lap at a time when he began seriously swimming after he nearly drowned in a splash pool when he was only 5 years old. He continued swimming throughout his years in high school and college. Bursting onto the national scene in 2005 at the World University Games, he easily won the gold medal in the 50 freestyle and became the 1st African American male to win gold. At the 2006 Pan Pacific Games, Cullen became the 1st African American to break a world record in swimming in an Olympic contested event as a part of the USA’s 4 X 100 Freestyle Relay Team. He also won the 50 meter freestyle swimming the fastest time in the world for 2006. Cullen was a 4-time ACC Champion and 2006 NCAA Champion from North Carolina State University.
Cullen proved that he is one of the swiftest swimmers on the planet in 2008 when he became the 2nd African American in history to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming. He accomplished that by helping the 4X100 freestyle men’s relay team (Michael Phelps, Jason Lezak and Garrett Weber-Gale) win the gold medal in a stunning comeback. In a race soaked with drama and subplots, the Americans shattered the world record they had set just hours earlier in the prelims, blistering through the water in 3 minutes, 8.24 seconds. Cullen also helped to secure Olympic gold for fellow teammate, Phelps, who became the only person to win 8 gold medals in a single Olympic Games.
Cullen continues to dominate the 50 meter sprint event and has also become a threat in the 100 meter freestyle. In his spare time he gives back to the community through motivational speaking, youth clinics, and even private lessons. Working with USA Swimming Foundation’s Make a Splash Program, Cullen is dedicated to helping minorities learn how to swim and spreading his message that black kids can swim too!
These two amazing individuals have encountered struggles but their determination to pursue life-long dreams of becoming Olympians should continue to inspire us all as they are living history.
Love it! Honor them and recognize their accomplishments while they’re still here. YES!