If any young women gymnasts out there want to attend an HBCU, they may want to check out Grambling State University before they look anywhere else.
The Louisiana university announced late last month that they are exploring the potential of adding women’s gymnastics to their athletic program, which would make Grambling the first HBCU to offer the sport that captivates Americans every four years at the Olympics.
The Associated Press has more on why it’s so important to offer gymnastics programs to young women of color:
More than half of the 18 women invited to Olympic trials in St. Louis [in June] were women of color. While numbers are still low on college teams, there is progress. Black women account for nearly 10% of the scholarship athletes at the NCAA Division I level, an increase from 7% in 2012. More than 10% of USA Gymnastics membership self-identify as Black.
These young student-athletes deserve the chance to show their talents to the rest of the world. Grambling officials recognize this opportunity.
Black Enterprise has the money quote from the school’s Public Relations Director Raven Thissel:
“Our university leadership is looking at young gymnasts in our community, and realizing and understanding the path from toddler gymnastics tumbling to the Olympics for a Black and brown gymnast is arduous. How can we make it a smoother one?”
For more Citizen Ed Olympics coverage, tune into the latest episode of Talk Dat Real Sh*t.
