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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 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 discus and shot-put 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 shot-putter and a shot-putter can bobsled!
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Georgette Reed (3:01)
Olympian, Summer & Winter Events
Listen to what Georgette Reed has to say about stereotypes (and about going really, really fast down a very steep hill on a bobsleigh).
Watch Georgette's Video...
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Discussion Questions:
• What surprised you most about Georgette's story?
• What assumptions or stereotypes did people make about Georgette Reed?
• Does Georgette's story challenge any of your assumptions about people?
• How did the coach's beliefs affect her decisions about Georgette?
• If virtually everyone stereotypes, how can we prevent ourselves from discriminating against others?
• How did Georgette react to the discrimination?
• Alone and then in groups, discuss what else could Georgette have done?
• What are Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, BC Human Rights Code, and Ombudsman Act, and how might they have helped Georgette if she had been offered a scholarship at a University in British Columbia or elsewhere in Canada? Work in groups of three. "Each one, teach one" - share what you learned with the other members of your group.
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