One of the fastest women in the world is a 21-year-old Black woman from Dallas with a penchant for brightly colored weaves, long nails and window washer eye lashes. Her name is Sha’Carri Richardson, and her appearance is all anyone can talk about.
Sure, we acknowledge that she’s on her way to her first Olympics, but then it’s all about that orange hair and those colorful nails. I get it. But it’s still annoying. She doesn’t look that different from many women in her age group of similar means and region, but the media would have you think that her appearance — at least in this rare air environment in which she finds herself — is somehow strange, or, dare I say wrong?
Don’t be silly, darlings. Sha’Carri isn’t even the first of her class to do it like this on the track. Surely it hasn’t been that long? You do remember Florence Griffith Joyner?
Shouldn’t we be over it by now? Must we have the same boring conversations over and over? I mean, what’s the real story here? That a non-rich, non connected minority has made every headline all over the world because she is literally one of the best to ever do her particular job, like ever? Or is the story, young black woman wears brightly colored weave? You do see my confusion.
Sha’Carri might not be your stereotypical spokesperson, but I think she’s going to surprise us, and I think brands are going to jump on board and embrace this #BlackGirlMagic/difference because it’s like she says in a post I made today: However you may feel about her look, she’s a winner, and her time on the track speaks for itself.
This young lady is one of a kind, and that’s still special in this jaded world of ours. At least, it should be.
I also think she’s flexible. I haven’t OD’d on her interviews and such yet, but what I have seen, I get the impression that Richardson is learning, she’s flexible, or should I say versatile, and she’s determined to win — her way.
That says American hero, and that’s a sponsor’s dream, right?
The pictures flying all over the Internet scream “I will stand out on the track.” But in the clip I posted today, her little hands hold shorter, nude nails, her black dress is demure, and her black hair style is classic down to the gentle curls framing her face. That’s what I mean by versatility, and the ability to adapt is one of the most valuable skills in any almost industry you can think of, for any kind of talent.
I want Sha’Carri to pull a Linda Evangelista — another best in class, headline stealing maverick known for wildly changing hair style sans tattoos — and have different colored hair at every race, just to thumb her figurative nose at these boring journalists who stop the story at her hairdo.
What would a day look like when a Black woman, a winner, someone unique in form and function, didn’t have to explain why she took the time to doll herself up? When is a Black woman taking care with her appearance not going to be a topic of endless fascination? In the immortal words of Holly Golightly, “I must say, the mind reels!”
A Life Not Grey 