Dear friend,
Color Of Change is proud to have sponsored Gwen Berry at the Tokyo Olympics. Berry is a Black woman athlete, Olympic hammer thrower, Pan-American gold medalist, and Activist Athlete. Like Tommie Smith, John Carlos, and Rose Robinson, Berry continues the tradition of using her platform to protest racial injustice.1,2 We thank Berry for her leadership and partnership in sports activism, even in the face of death threats and vitriol.
Berry’s activism inspired her friend and fellow Olympian Raven Saunders to protest on the medal podium while receiving her silver medal in shot put earlier this week.3 Saunders protested by crossing her wrists above her head to form an “X,” representing the “intersection of where all people who are oppressed meet.”4 For joining Berry in using her platform to call attention to injustice, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is investigating Saunders and planning to punish her under their discriminatory Rule 50.5 Sadly, while waiting on the IOC's decision, Saunders' mother has unexpectedly passed away.6 She needs the support of our community more than ever now.
Not only has the IOC gone out of its way to prohibit Black athletes from speaking out—including banning athletes from wearing anything that says “Black lives matter”—but it has escalated this discriminatory policy by requiring athletes who protest at the Olympics to appeal their punishment through the Court of Arbitration for Sport, led by John Coates, the same man who is on the IOC payroll to design its oppressive rules.7 This blatant conflict of interest makes it clear that the IOC cannot be trusted to be fair.
As the Tokyo Olympics go on, we must continue to show that we support athletes like Saunders and Berry, and we must push the corporations who fund the Olympics to do the right thing. Join us in pressuring the Olympic corporate sponsors, like Visa, Coca-Cola, and Nike, to publicly denounce attempts to punish Raven Saunders and demand an end to Rule 50.
SIGN THE PETITION TO END RULE 50
Until justice is real,
The Color Of Change team.
References :
- Henry Bushnell, “U.S. Olympians, John Carlos call on IOC to abolish anti-protest rule,” Yahoo! Sports, June 27, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/267800?t=6&akid=51674%2E1942551%2Ea95Z5F.
- Amira Rose Davis, “Sixty Years Ago She Refused to Stand for the Anthem,” Zora/Medium, September 26, 2019, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/226239?t=8&akid=51674%2E1942551%2Ea95Z5F.
- Tyler Dragon, “American Raven Saunders let The Hulk come out in the ring to win shot put silver,” USA Today, August 1, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/315467?t=10&akid=51674%2E1942551%2Ea95Z5F.
- Eddie Pells and Pat Graham, “Incredible Raven : Saunders lends her voice to the Olympics,” AP, August 1, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/315468?t=12&akid=51674%2E1942551%2Ea95Z5F.
- Gwen Berry, “I Used the Podium to Protest. The Olympic Committee Punished Me,” The New York Times, September 7, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/267799?t=14&akid=51674%2E1942551%2Ea95Z5F.
- Raven Saunders, Twitter, August 3, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/315582?t=16&akid=51674%2E1942551%2Ea95Z5F.
- “Global Athlete,” Twitter, July 21, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/315246?t=18&akid=51674%2E1942551%2Ea95Z5F.
Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Please help keep our movement strong.
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