Fisk University is the first HBCU to have a gymnastics team. And last January, in 2023, that team made history when it became the first HBCU team to compete in an NCAA meet. And now, these legendary gymnasts are bringing the next generation with them.
Fisk University is the first HBCU to have a gymnastics team. And last January, in 2023, that team made history when it became the first HBCU team to compete in an NCAA meet. And now, these legendary gymnasts are bringing the next generation with them.
REFERENCES/LINKS
Connect with the gymnasts we interviewed (in order):
@Aliyahs.the.gymnast on Instagram
Connect with the Fisk gymnastics team:
2024 Bulldogs Camp registration
TRANSCRIPT
Fisk University is the FIRST HBCU to have a gymnastics team.
Coach Corrine Tarver started this monumental program in 2022.
And last January, in 2023, that team made history when it became the first HBCU team to compete in an NCAA meet.
[Instagram video]
People everywhere, people like me, were excited! This meant that Black girls who were interested in gymnastics didn’t need to cross HBCUs off their potential college list. It meant more options, more community.
I know I immediately started following the team on Instagram. And one day, I was watching a video when I saw an adorable little girl with braids flipping through my timeline. When I saw her land her move, smile, and start to hug the college girls, I realized I knew that sweet face. It was the daughter of MY college friend, Alena.
[Instagram video]
It was beautiful to see! A new generation of HBCU girls helping the NEXT generation after them. It was something to be proud of.
This is Bragging Rights. A podcast about the stories — and people — who made our HBCUs.
ALECIA: My name is Alecia.
Alecia is 6 years old. And as a gymnast, she’s good. Like, really, really good. And going to the Fisk Bulldogs Camp helped her be even better.
ALECIA: It felt great and I made new friends and I started to do like more gymnastics and like learning new skills.
LeLe’s favorite thing about the camp was mastering a skill she had been trying to do before in another camp. And she was able to improve on her technique. A lot of backhandsprings.
ALECIA: They helped me learn by doing all the stuff and doing like nice breathing and like doing heart stuff, stretching and stuff.
There’s a lot she took away from it.
ALECIA: To be brave and take deep breaths.
And she formed special connections with the college girls on the team. Especially Naimah who taught her a dance to a song by Beyonce — her favorite.
ALECIA: My connection with Naimah — she was my other one from the other Fisk, and she was my bestie.
ALECIA: She taught us this dance, and it was fun.
And see, this is what I love about the Fisk Gymnastics team:
They’re making history. AND, they’re bringing the next generation with them.
Naimah Muhammad is a senior at Fisk. She’s the bestie Alecia was talking about.
NAIMAH: I officially joined the Fisk gymnastics team, sometime, I want to say early June, early June, late May of 2022.
Naimah’s a part of the team’s first group of girls who made history. In fact, she’s the first person to step out there on the floor.
NAIMAH: So a moment that I'm the most proud of. I am the first HBCU gymnast in history.
NAIMAH: When we had our first competition in Las Vegas at the Super 16 Gymnastics meet, I went first for Fisk. So I'm the first gymnast to go for FISK, but also, for any HBCU that has a gymnastics team. Since we're the first gymnastics team, I'm the first HBCU gymnast, which is like, that's the probably the biggest accomplishment that I've ever had ever.
The weight of that accomplishment can sometimes feel enormous. A little unbelievable.
NAIMAH: I forget, sometimes, honestly, I don't really think about it that much. But every now and then, I'm like, Oh, wait, like, you are the first, there won't be another first like that. And that feels like such a big — it's an honor. At the same time, it's like, that's so weird. Because why do you think of people like being like the first in something like, that's something I read about in history books and stuff like that. But now it's like, that's actually me.
But it’s something that’s true. It’s something Naimah DID achieve alongside her team at Fisk.
NAIMAH: It's a weird thing to say. But I also try to give myself credit where credit is due because I did work really hard for that. And now it's happening.
Now, the Fisk gymnastics team is in its SECOND season. And there are new girls looking at the OGs like Naimah for guidance, advice, and support.
NAIMAH: It is really surreal, knowing that we’re OGs and we have new gymnasts coming in. They watched us compete all year so they're excited to be on the team. And also, it's like, they have questions and stuff where they want to know how there's something done like, they do come to me and ask me. And, it feels good to know that they feel comfortable enough to want to ask me and talk to me. And sometimes they'll ask me things. And I'm just like, oh, I don't know. Like, I'm not an expert guys. I'm still a student-athlete just like y'all; I don't know everything. So that's been really cool.
And on top of the camps for new freshman gymnasts, the Fisk athletes also work at their Bulldogs Camps. That’s the camp where young girls like Alecia come to learn from them. And, be inspired by them.
NAIMAH: And then for the camps, that's even more of a surreal thing. Because they're even the younger, like the freshmen girls. They're only a couple years younger than me. So really, it's like being an older sister for them. But then for the Bulldog camps with these little gymnasts like they're, they're like little babies up to like girls a couple years younger than me. So it's, it's kind of crazy when they'll come in and be like, “You're my favorite gymnast” or “I saw you on TV” or they'll want an autograph. And then, they're excited that I'm teaching them gymnastics. And that makes me feel really special. Because when I was growing up, there were only a handful of Black gymnasts that I could look up to. I want to say, Gabby Douglas was like the first gymnast that I saw like during my time.
In 2022, Jordan Chiles, Konnor McClain and Shilese Jones marked the first time three Black women topped the podium at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships.
But before that, it’s been a long road for representation in the sport, especially at an elite level. So much so, that you can name MANY of the few Black women who have been able to make it that high over the past decades.
There was Luci Collins and Dianne Durham in the ‘80s.
Dominique Dawes and Betty Okino in the ‘90s.
Gabby Douglas, and Simone Biles in recent years.
And the young girls Naimah and her teammates work with? They look at them the same way.
NAIMAH: I know there was like Betty Okino and Dominique Dawes, but that was when my mom was growing up watching it. For me growing up. All I had was Gabby Douglas, and that was it. So then Simone Biles, of course, came later. And that was like Jordan Chiles and all the girls in college doing gymnastics, which is great. And for these younger girls, now they have representation in gymnastics all over the place, and to be a part of that makes me feel really special, and it’s like I'm actually a part of something that means a lot.
ALIYAH: My name is Aliyah Reed-Hammon and I'm a sophomore at Fisk University.
Aliyah also joined the team during its first year.
ALIYAH: It's way different from competing in like high school, because in high school, you didn't travel as much and you didn't really travel (well, at least at my gym) we didn't really travel as a team. So it's actually a really fun and different experience for me. Since we travel as a team so much we do like everything as a team. And I actually really like it because when I was growing up in gymnastics, like my team, they were really small. And now and I used to have to like, warm up by myself at meets and stuff like that. So now, that I get to like warm up with my team — have people to cheer on and have people who are cheering me on — it's really good. And I actually really like it.
And like Naimah, she recognizes the importance of being the first.
ALIYAH: I just thought that it was really cool to be a part of the first HBCU gymnastics team because you know, there's like, nothing like that before. There's like never been a team where there's like mostly all Black and Brown girls there. So I just thought that that'd be pretty cool, seeing as I was normally one of the ones on the team, or I was one of the only Black girls on the team.
Her experience working at the Bulldogs Camps with younger girls is one that’s really fulfilling.
ALIYAH: I really like working at the camps because you get to make these connections with these girls that you know that they're watching what you do. So it's like, you kind of have to set an example because they're looking up to you because this is the first time they've seen it. Like they're not old enough to be a part of it. But they're watching us and watching how all this is playing out. So we're basically, we need to set a good example for these kids because that will determine whether or not, "Oh, well I want to be like her" or "I want to be like them." So I feel like it's kind of some pressure to be around them. But then at the end of the day I like cuz I've always coached classes at my gym. So I like coaching little kids, I like spotting and all that. So it's just really fun for me. I have a lot of fun everywhere. I like the little camps with the little kids, and they're all so cute
And as transformational as the Fisk gymnastics team is for these little girls, for the sport, for how we look at HBCUs, it’s also changing the environment and what’s normal for these ladies.
For Naimah, it’s something she’s never experienced before.
NAIMAH: Being on the Fisk gymnastics team is a completely different experience than I've had on any other teams. And I really do think that's because all of these girls have similar experiences. And we all know what it's like being one of the only ones in a space, I know what it feels like to be the only Black girl on the team, I was the only Black girl on the team before. And every single one of the girls at Fisk have had that experience, or they've been one of two, one of three, or they haven't had just a whole team full of girls that look like them with experiences like them. I can go to the gym, and my hair can be embraced. Well, not anymore, they're in locs now. But at a time, I could go to the gym, having braids and be the only Black girl in the gym with braids. And now you can go to the gym, and everybody have braids, or somebody has a sew-in or somebody has locs. And one of the new freshman, she has locs too, which is great, because she can do this cool style. … And that's something really special to me, because there's also a sense of bonding there.
This type of bonding is not often available when you’re the only Black girl or ONE OF the only Black girls on a team.
NAIMAH: I remember an experience for one of my former teams where as part of team bonding, it was everyone would go get spray tans, whoa, I don't really need a spray tan, I'm already Black. So I couldn't go do some of that team bonding stuff. Because I'm Black, I don't spray tan.
Now, that’s not something she has to even think about.
NAIMAH: And for us, it's more of a thing where it's like, oh, we can all get our hair done together. Or we can all get our nails done together. And all the girls are really talented. They actually know how to do nails and lashes and stuff like that. So we kind of just go into each other's rooms and do things like that. There's a sense of sisterhood that I haven't had before, that feels very comforting.
NAIMAH: And also feels really good competition-wise also. It's a lot easier to compete when you're competing around girls that support you and all aspects of what you do in and outside of the gym.
Speaking of support, now it’s time for us to support them because these amazing ladies are ready to make history again!
This MLK Day, Monday, January 15, they’ll host a meet where they will compete against five other teams. And those teams? Are ALSO all coached by Black women. The event will be held at Vanderbilt University's Memorial Gymnasium at 3 p.m.
[Instagram reel sound]
Links to follow our gymnasts are listed in the show notes.
Hopefully, we’ll have some more ears and hands helping out soon. But for now, Bragging Rights is reported and produced by me, Arionne Nettles.
Join us next time for another deep dive into an HBCU story. We’re going to MY home, on the HIGHEST of seven hills, to talk a little more sports and really go deep into the legacy of HBCU football. In the meantime, keep bragging!