If you're not a sports enthusiast, you're probably elated that Rio Olympics 2016 is finally over. One thing is certain -- Rio 2016 will go down as the most memorable Olympics in the annals of the Games. It will be known for three things: Gold, Lies, and Controversy.
Some of Rio's 2016 medalists.
Rio 2016 was dominated by Black athletes, mainly women. It was almost impossible to not know what was going on because the success of gold medalists Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Simone Manuel, and Michelle Carter, have been plastered all over social media. Biles is even on the front cover of US Magazine. I don't think any Olympics has had that many Black gold medalists.
Ryan Lochte makes front page of the New York Post.
But gold medals weren't the only thing happening at Rio 2016. American swimmer and gold medalist, Ryan Lochte, alleged that he and other American swimmers had been robbed. Come to find out, Lochte's story was a lie. Why is this a big deal? A picture was painted that Brazilians, posing as police officers, had robbed an American gold medalist, who happens to be White.
Gabby Douglas fails to salute the American flag.
Then there's the issue with Douglas not saluting the American flag. Now this shouldn't be of any surprise to anyone; Douglas is Black and America has been killing Black men and women. Would you salute the flag of a country that has blatantly shown discrimination towards your race?
But Douglas' reluctance to salute the flag is reminiscent of what happened at the 1968 Olympics when John Carlos and Tommie Smith gestured "Black Power' by raising their fists in the air -- the American flag was not saluted!
Another black male, Alton Sterling, gets gunned down by the police. And as we have all heard before, the officers felt the need to shoot him dead because they thought he had a gun.
Yes. They thought he had a gun because a random person yelled "He's got a gun! Gun!"
According to The Advocate newspaper, the store owner said the police removed a gun from Sterling's pocket after they already shot him dead.
If you've seen the video, footage shows that Sterling was pinned down to the ground and posed no physical threat. Why shoot him?
The cops involved? Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II and yes, they are white!
As we are all used to seeing, there will be civil unrest. There will be protests. There will be marches. According to ABC News, the federal government is now leading a civil rights investigation behind the shooting.
This is not the first time a black male -- armed or not -- has been gunned down by a cop. We've seen rallies. We've seen marches. We've seen investigations. What we haven't seen is change.
What is it going to take for police departments to realize that they can't prey on black males? The aforementioned attempts are not bringing success. There must be change. A change in our approach towards the injustices of this system.
