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Georgette Reed was a shy, overweight kid when she first started swimming in Regina, Saskatchewan. The other kids in the pool sometimes teased her — but she stuck it out and in 1986 Georgette was offered a swimming scholarship at an American university. Just imagine her surprise when she arrived at the university and the swimming coach told her that she couldn't be Georgette Reed, the swimmer, because "you're black and blacks don't swim."
To be the best you can be often means having to overcome stereotypes and even prejudice.
Stereotypes are the assumptions we make about people based on the colour of their skin, the clothes they wear, their religion, where they were born, their gender, and lots of other things, including the sports they play. Just because you have white or black skin, are thin or fat, are male or female, some people think they know who you are and what you can or can't do — they make assumptions about you. Stereotypes don't recognize individuals. Even worse, stereotypes can lead to prejudice and discrimination.
Georgette Reed overcame stereotypes and prejudice to become a competitive swimmer, a Canadian shot and discus champion, an Olympian, and an artist. She has won the Canadian Championships in discus and shot put (14 times). She has competed in all the major sporting events: the Commonwealth Games, Pan Am Games, World Championships, and the Olympics. Not only did Georgette show that a shy, overweight black kid can become a competitive swimmer — she showed that a swimmer can become a shotputter and a shotputter can bobsled!
We all stereotype others to some degree. But we are not acting fairly if we treat other people differently because of our stereotypes and prejudices. Every one of us deserves to be treated as a unique human being. And, as Georgette Reed teaches us, we must also learn not to stereotype ourselves.
- Listen to what Georgette Reed has to say about stereotypes (and about going really, really fast down a very steep hill on a bobsleigh).
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