33 year old Gwen Berry has been an athlete her whole life, and the hammer throw would be her ticket to notoriety. Her talent has taken her around the world, and her medal count is proof that she represents the US well. As a Black woman in the United States, she’s also felt that it’s her duty to acknowledge the racism faced by people of color.
In 2019, Berry dominated at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru and won a gold medal. At the podium, she raised a fist, a Black power symbol that she said represented the fight for racial justice. Her message was clear: “I stood for everyone who’s felt held back and defeated.”
Despite being well-intentioned, she was floored by a $50,000 fine.
“I was actually shocked,” Berry explained. “I didn’t understand how, even though I didn’t incite anybody or cause any harm, this could cause such an uproar. So I was pretty confused and disappointed.”
That disappointment extended to her sponsors, who started to sever ties. The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) prohibited athlete demonstration, so she was also given a year of probation on top of the fine. The damage inflicted on Berry was immense. “80% of my income was taken from me, I was threatened daily, and lived in fear for my life,” she recalls.
Berry says that reporters were even showing up to her son’s school, putting her entire family in fear. She says, “This took a big toll on my mind, and I wanted to leave the sport for good.”
The impact her decision made on her career and personal life was disheartening, and just a year later, the whole country would see exactly the magnitude of police brutality––a cause Berry had hoped to bring attention to.
Just a year later, in 2020, the world would watch as George Floyd cried for his mother while being killed by a police officer. It was almost as though Berry’s message wasn’t wrong or inappropriate, but instead, the world didn’t yet grasp the magnitude. But despite the conversations and reforms that resulted from George Floyd’s death, in 2021, an ill-timed Star Spangled Banner would again thrust Berry into the negative spotlight.
During the Olympic Trials, the National Anthem played while she was on the podium, and she turned away from the other athletes in protest. Berry speculates that the song was purposely timed to create controversy. She recalls, “They knew what I stood for, and I think they charted the perfect opportunity just to create some type of drama to elevate the views and the attention to the Olympic Games.”
While critics may call her unamerican or consider her behavior to be performative, they can’t take away from the path to service that she’s laid out for her life. Berry is working towards creating a legacy of health equity for vulnerable groups. She is currently in school to get a masters degree in public health. “My emphasis is cultural competency and behavioral science,” she explains.
Her MPH will allow her to become a better advocate. “I know that minorities in America don’t have access to a lot of things that other people do, and how it affects our health,” she says. “With this degree, I’ll be taken more seriously and be able to tend to the needs of the community.”
Gwen with her son, a standout high school football player
Berry’s plan is to work for a philanthropic organization, or one that does community outreach and interventions. That way, she believes she can help with allocation of the millions of dollars that are donated and often misappropriated. “I feel like we’ve seen hundreds of millions of dollars being donated recently, but we haven’t seen what’s come of that. I want to become a strong facilitator, and I’d prove that money being donated is actually helping.”
Despite any criticisms she’s faced during her athletic career, Berry plans to remain steadfast and focused on creating equity for those who need it most. Her mission only began with a raised fist, and her budding imprint on marginalized groups has yet to be seen.
