The Price of #BlackExcellence (And Why We Have to Stop Paying)

The Price of #BlackExcellence (And Why We Have to Stop Paying)

Let me tell you something. If you’re not a fan of Simone Biles, we can’t be friends. At just 24 years old, she’s setting an example for generations of Black women and girls to listen to our inner voices, respect our own energy, and set boundaries that prioritize our health, wellbeing and – dare I say it – our own happiness. And yes, before we get into it, her example is no doubt valuable for anyone and everyone. But the gift she’s giving to Black women is profound. 

If you’ve been off the grid and don’t know what I’m talking about, let’s catch you up. This year, at what looked for all the world like the pinnacle of her power, Biles withdrew from the Olympic finals in Tokyo. She faced an immediate storm of anger and insults from people who should quite frankly know better, as well as from armchair “experts”, haters, and regular folks who wouldn’t know a balance beam if it got up and hit them in the face. 

Then, there were the sane voices who understood the bravery that Biles showed in that moment, and the wisdom she had to listen to her body and heed its warnings. But more than that – and I’m not sure we fully grasp it yet – Biles bent reality so she could leave Tokyo in one piece. Let me lay this all out: 

So often, in the face of obstacles, we can feel like all our options disappear. Maybe we’re afraid to disappoint a loved one. Maybe we’re afraid to negotiate a raise. Maybe we’re afraid to apply to a new role, a new company,  or to take the leap and change careers. So often, we allow that fear to win, to drown out our own inner voice, and convince us to stay in situations that do not serve us.

Instead of listening to ourselves and honoring ourselves, we listen to the voice that says: “You can’t do any better than this.” “There’s no way out.” “It just has to be done.” And when we listen to that voice, reality starts to close in and get smaller around us – until we believe the lie that there’s nothing we can do to make a change. Simone Biles looked that lie in the face and said “No.” And then she created a path for herself where she could walk out of the Olympic finals with bones unbroken and her whole self intact. That was a victory worth celebrating, and it’s a story I hope we come back to again and again. 

Too many of us are stuck in a harmful, disempowering alternative – and the consequences are getting more dire by the day. Yes, I am aware that the corporate world and the world of elite gymnastics are not the same. But for Black women and girls, the constant push to excel at our own expense transcends every occupation and industry. And when you consider the consequences, they don’t look so different after all. 

Case in point: While working in one of my previous roles, I developed multiple health complications due to high stress levels and unrelenting workplace toxicity. I suffered not one but two major blood pressure spikes, pregnancy complications, and even a miscarriage. My doctor had to pull me out of work for two weeks because my health and safety were so scarily at risk. And through it all, I was trying my hardest to suck it up, do my best, and push through the pain – because I couldn’t let my professional standards slip even for a minute. #BlackExcellence, right? 

In 2016 Biles suffered a cracked rib during a post-Olympics tour. She then performed for two additional weeks and completed an entire book tour while still injured – only stopping to see a doctor when she returned home. In a 2019 interview she says, "Pain is just something I live with and that is pretty odd for my age, right?" she said at the time. "It feels weird if I'm not in pain." Throughout her career, Biles accepted that pain was just par for the course. And everyone around her accepted it too. How different is that for our expectations (and unchecked assumptions) for Black women across the board? 

Am I equating Biles’s experience with my own? Absolutely not. Am I pointing out a common thread of real, physical consequences that Black women endure in the pursuit of excellence? Absolutely yes. And it’s important to emphasize that this detrimental endurance isn’t the result of pride. It’s the result of vicious double standards, generations of massive overwork, and the systemic denial of our invaluable, professional contributions. And every part of that unjust and deadly equation has been normalized for us all from day one. 

I am so ready for Black women and girls to put that burden down. As you already know, it’s going to be a fight. The good news: that fight’s already in progress and – in the big picture – none of us are in this fight alone. The not-so-good-news: when we’re deep in our individual struggles, and it feels like our options are disappearing, The Collective Struggle isn’t really a comfort. 

That’s why I’m committed to shining a light on The Individual Struggle, and help YOU remember that you DO have options. No matter what you may have heard, you do NOT have to be someone else’s workhorse. Your health, wellbeing, and your happiness – there I said it – are worth protecting. More than that, they’re worth expanding.  

Let’s take a page out of Simone Biles’s book and redefine #BlackExcellence together.