Alice Coachman. Submitted photo

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH – HONORING BLACK HER-STORIES

Kevin Goins, Cheryl Washington – Contributing Writers

Angelo Ellerbee – President, Double XXposure Media Relations

Alice Coachman. Submitted photo

Alice Coachman was the first Black American woman to win an Olympic gold medal specializing in high jump. It wasn’t unusual for her to train shoeless near her rural home but it was unconscionable to be denied the use of equipment to practice because of her skin color. Coachman paved the way for future track and field stars Evelyn Ashford, Florence Griffith Joyner, and Jackie Joyner-Kersee to follow in her shoes, figuratively.

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