Why Maame
Biney Matters in 2018
In this dark time of Trump, it is perhaps poetic justice—or
just karma—that the rising star of the US American team is an 18-year-old immigrant
born in Ghana, the first black speed skater in US history at the Olympics
(along with Erin Jackson, long-track, whom we shouldn’t forget).
But I want to talk about Maame because she defines what this
country is about.
Her parents are separated, her mother in Ghana, but her
father in the US. While she still talks
to her mother, she fell in love with the US, and at 5, chose to live with her
father. He took her to a skating rink on
a lark, and when she proved to have talent (albeit in speed skating, not figure
skating), he worked extra and gave up much to support her immense, budding
talent.
To complete her training, she was taken in by a white host
family in Salt Lake City, who her father waxes poetic about as not caring about
race, but perhaps he shouldn’t. In the
current environment, I understand, but Maame is America: the ambitious immigrant. She doesn’t need apologies for making the
team. Increasingly black athletes are
finding standing in sports once considered mostly white. Gymnastics saw it with Gabby Douglas, then
Simone Biles (the latter of whom was also known for her infectious personality). Now we have Maame and Erin in speed skating. The white-power narrative will argue that blacks
are “taking over,” but this is silly, a fear reaction because territory once
perceived as theirs is no longer white-washed.
That helps everyone. Athletes seek to excel, or should. Greater competition means athletes are
challenged to excel more. Whining about increased competition is a sign
of weakness and insecurity. Do white
athletes need a “handicap” in order to make the Olympic team? I don’t think so. The US sends her best. Any color.
We’re fortunate to have a large enough population to send so many
athletes. 200+ compared to some
countries excited to send just 3-4, none of whom have any chance of
medaling. Just to participate is
enough. We shouldn’t whine.
Back to Maame. She hails
from a continent/country the US president recently labeled a “shithole,” and why
should we let in people from such places?
To make it worse, her father isn’t rich.
He put everything he’s earned into his daughter’s training. They are not the Trump White House’s idea of “ideal
immigrants.” Yet when she earns medals
in South Korea, I wonder what the current administration’s reaction will be? Will she get an invitation, with Trump trying
to coopt her victory to lessen backlash for his “shithole countries”
remark? Or will she be politely ignored? If she’s invited, frankly, I hope she declines,
but that is her decision to make.
In the end, Maame is just a girl, a high school senior. And like any other girl, she has dreams. She wants to win gold, and then she wants to
become a chemical engineer. And if a lot
of people at universities all across the US dream of the latter, very, very few
have any hope of the former. Yet it’s
the later on which I think we should focus.
Maame is special, she has a rare talent, but she’s also just like any
immigrant in that she wants a better life, and has dreams shared by a lot of
other Americans, from truly Native Americans, enrolled in any of the recognized
native tribes, to Americans from older immigrant groups dating back before
American independence, to more recent immigrants, whether through Ellis Island
or other venues.
America is about
people with dreams. And to my mind,
the best thing Maame brings to the Olympics and this country is her laugh, her
hope, her drive, and her dreams. In short, she brings herself.
Go, go, go, Maame.
You are this country, this United States. We got your back, girl. Go win some Olympic hardware.
