{"id":63344,"date":"2022-03-09T04:21:29","date_gmt":"2022-03-09T04:21:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mixedracestudies.org\/?p=63344"},"modified":"2022-03-10T15:45:36","modified_gmt":"2022-03-10T15:45:36","slug":"artist-thenjiwe-niki-nkosi-reveals-and-defies-the-white-supremacist-underpinnings-of-elite-gymnastics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/?p=63344","title":{"rendered":"Artist Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi reveals\u2014and defies\u2014the white supremacist underpinnings of elite gymnastics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Artist Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi reveals\u2014and defies\u2014the white supremacist underpinnings of elite gymnastics<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Document Journal<\/a>
\n2019-11-07<\/p>\n

Miss Rosen<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

As Simone Biles<\/a> becomes the most decorated athlete in sports, Nkosi<\/a> tells <\/em>Document about the implications of Black girls’ success in elite gymnastics<\/a>, which has historically been used as a tool of oppression.<\/em><\/p>\n

When Simone Biles<\/a> made history at the 2019 World Championships<\/a> by becoming the most decorated gymnast of any gender, she single-handedly redefined one of the world\u2019s most elite sports. As a Black woman in a traditionally white space, she surpassed all expectations, becoming an icon in the process.<\/p>\n

For Johannesburg<\/a>-based multimedia artist Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi<\/a>, Biles\u2019 success is a testament to Black power in the face of an establishment determined to undermine it. Earlier this summer Biles invented new skills and the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique<\/a> (FIG), the sport\u2019s governing body, penalized her for the groundbreaking performance. The FIG reduced the degree of Biles\u2019 signature \u2018double double\u2019 dismount<\/a> (two twists, two flips) from the beam\u2014out of concern, they claimed, about the safety of lesser gymnasts who might harm themselves while attempting it…<\/p>\n

…Born in New York to a South African father in exile and a Greek-American mother, Nkosi\u2019s family moved to Harare, Zimbabwe<\/a>, in 1989 when she just was eight years old. \u201cI get this rush of emotion when I think of the day we were watching Nelson Mandela being released from prison in 1990<\/a> on TV,\u201d Nkosi says. \u201cMy parents were looking at each other like, \u2018This is it, we are going to go.\u2019…<\/p>\n