Black American Olympic Medal Winners

The Summer Olympic Games - an epic celebration of the pursuit of greatness that which only the purest sense of patriotic pride is born. This year Bejing, China set the stage for these, the ultimate sporting contests. According to wikipedia.com and wikianswers.com 205 countries combined to offer 10,500 athletes competing in 302 events in 28 sports.

The United States won the most overall medals in the games earning a total of 110 medals. China came in second in the overall medal count earning the most gold medals of any country, 51 gold and 100 overall. Russia rounds off the top 3 with a total medal count of 72.

The United States had an impressive showing throughout the games, with a large portion of their medals coming at the hands of Black American Olympians. I searched high and wide for a cheat sheet of all the Black American Olympians and thus far I have not found such a list. However, my conscience feels that there is a need for a place in cyberspace that honors the contributions made this year by our Black American Olympians, so allow me to offer you your Black American Olympic Medal Winners of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Social Angst is particularly proud of their talent, dedication, and patriotism.

Let us start with people you know:

THE UNITED STATES OLYMPIC MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM
MEDAL: Gold DISCIPLINE: Men's Basketball

Players (alphabetically):

Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh, Kobe Bryant, Anthony Carmello, Dwight Howard, Lebron James,Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Tayshaun Prince, Michael Redd, Dwyane Wade, Deron Williams

THE UNITED STATES OLYMPIC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM
MEDAL: Gold DISCIPLINE: Women's BasketBall

Players (alphabetically):
Seimone Agustus, Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings, Sylvia Fowles, Kara Lawson, Lisa Leslie, Delisha Milton-Jones, Candace Parker, Cappie Pondexter, Katie Smith Diana Taurasi, Tina Thompson

VENUS AND SERENA WILLIAMS
MEDAL: Gold DISCIPLINE: Tennis/Women's Doubles


And now onto some lesser known Black Olympians:

Kerron Clement
Born:Trinadad & Tobago Resides: Los Angeles, CA
Medal: Silver Discipline: Athletics/Men's 400M Hurdles

Shawn Crawford
Born: Van Wyck, SC Resides: Los Angeles, CA
Medal: Silver Discipline: Athletics/Men's 200M

Walter Dix
Born: Coral Springs, Fl Resides: Ft Lauderdale, FL
Medal: Bronze Discipline: Athletics/Men's 100M
Medal: Bronze Discipline: Athletics/Men's 200M

Allyson Felix
Born: Los Angeles, CA Resides: Los Angeles, CA
Medal: Silver Discipline: Athletics/Women's 200M
Medal: Gold Discipline: Athletics/Women's 4 x 400m Relay

Dexter Fowler
Born:T Atlanta, Georgia Resides: Los Angeles, CA
Medal: Gold Discipline: Men's Baseball (Team)

Dawn Harper
Born: St. Louis, IL
Medal: Gold Discipline: Athletics/Women's 100M Hurdles

Monique Henderson
Born: San Diego, CA Resides: Bonita, CA
Medal: Gold Discipline: Athletics/Women's 4 x 400m Relay

Bershawn Jackson
Born: Miami, Fl Resides: Raleigh, NC
Medal: Bronze Discipline: Athletics/Men's 400M Hurdles

Cullen Jones
Born: New Brunswick, NJ Resides: New Brunswick, NJ
Medal: Gold Discipline: Swimming/Men's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay

(bonus picture in this post... :wub:)

LeShawn Merrit
Born: Portsmouth, VA
Medal: Gold Discipline: Athletics/Men's 400m
Medal: Gold Discipline: Athletics/Men's 4 x 400m Relay

David Neville
Born:Merrillville, IN Resides: Los Angeles, CA
Medal: Bronze Discipline: Athletics/Men's 400M
Medal: Gold Discipline: Athletics/Men's 4 x 400m Relay

David Oliver

Born: Orlando, Fl
Medal: Bronze Discipline: Athletics/Men's 110m Hurdles

Sanya Richards
Born:Trinadad & Tobago Resides: Los Angeles, CA
Medal: Bronze Discipline: Athletics/Women's 400M
Medal: Gold Discipline: Athletics/Women's 4 x 400m Relay

David Payne
Born: Cincinnati, OH Resides: Hampton, VA
Medal: Silver Discipline: Athletics/Men's 110m Hurdles

Angelo TaylorBorn:
Trinadad & Tobago Resides: Los Angeles, CA
Medal: Gold Discipline: Athletics/Men's 400M Hurdles
Medal: Gold Discipline: Athletics/Men's 4 x 400m Relay

Sheena Tosta
Born: Camden, NJ Resides: Los Angeles, CA
Medal: Silver Discipline: Athletics/Women's 400m Hurdles

Natasha Watley
Born: Canoga Park, CA Resides: Los Angeles, CA
Medal: Silver Discipline: Women's Softball (Team)

Deontay Wilder
Born:Trinadad & Tobago Resides: Los Angeles, CA
Medal: Bronze Discipline: Heavy Weight

Sources and more information:

Offial 2008 Summer Olympics Website (USA Medalist Page)
2008 Summer Olympics on Wikipedia.com
WikiAnswers.com
Dawn Harper on Wikipedia.com
Google Images


SOCIAL ANGST HASSLE-FREE ACTIVISM:

• Everyone's talking about the olympic. Use this information to talk about the contributions made by Black American Olympians.
• Start a scrapbook of these athletes with some of the younger people in your life. Remind them that NOTHING stopped these individuals from attaining their goals - and nothing can stop them.