BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Natl Museum of American History -- Exhibit: We Belong Here: Marking the 50th Anniversary of Title IX

DC -- Natl Museum of American History -- Exhibit: We Belong Here: Marking the 50th Anniversary of Title IX:

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Description of Pictures: We Belong Here: Marking the 50th Anniversary of Title IX
June 23, 2022 – Indefinitely
Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the federal legislation that unintentionally helped bring equality to sports, this 30-foot display case illuminates three athletes’ stories while a large mural and access to digital content expand the narrative with additional accomplishments and struggles. We Belong Here features Naomi Osaka’s tennis racquet from the 2020 U.S. Open Tennis Championship, the U.S. National Soccer team jersey worn by Samantha Mewis when she was named U.S. Soccer Player of the Year in 2020, and a T-shirt skateboarder Leo Baker, a trans, non-binary athlete, made to express their identity in 2019. Baker made the cut for the inaugural U.S. Olympic Skateboarding team that year but declined to compete when faced with having to skate for the women’s team. This highlights case looks at the long trajectory of struggle for equal opportunity in sports that began long before the watershed legislation and athletes’ continuing journey with a law that is constantly evolving.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. BELONG_220618_01.JPG: We Belong Here The struggle for equal opportunity in sports began long before Title IX became law in 1972. And it continues today as transgender, nonbinary, and cisgender female athletes demand equality. Where does the fight for fair play in sports go from here?
2. BELONG_220618_09.JPG: Naomi Osaka "Things have to change." -- Naomi Osaka Naomi Osaka burst onto the sports scene as a 15-year-old tennis phenom -- and by 23 was a four-time grand slam champion. She challenges expectations that players are supposed to just tough it out. She has used her global platform to draw attention to issues harming athletes, including pressures affecting her own and other athletes’ mental health. Who gets to play sports?
3. BELONG_220618_13.JPG: Work in progress
4. BELONG_220618_14.JPG: Samantha Mewis "It. Is. Time." -- Sam Mewis Samantha Mewis played on the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team that won a World Cup title in 2019, the team’s fourth. Yet for years, the team that also won four Olympic gold medals was paid less than lesser performing male players. Mewis and other team members sued the U.S. Soccer Federation seeking equal pay and in 2021 won identical contracts to their male counterparts. Why do female athletes have to fight so hard to get paid fairly?
5. BELONG_220618_20.JPG: This exhibition marks the 50th anniversary of Title IX, federal legislation championed by Congresswoman Patsy Mink and signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1972. The act unintentionally boosted long-standing efforts to open male-dominated arenas of sports. Even as Title IX protections have been expanded over the years—most recently under the Biden administration—athletes continue to face sexism, racism, transphobia, and other forms of bigotry. The stories of athletes before and after Title IX are part of a larger narrative of the struggle for equality in the United States.
6. BELONG_220618_26.JPG: Dorothy Eda Hehnke “We can’t stop them.” -- An athletic association president, 1922 In the early 1920s, Dorothy Eda Hehnke played half-court basketball at her Nebraska high school, one of few sports available to girls. At the time, most people mistakenly believed that girls could not handle the physical exertion or stress of competitive sports. In 1926 the state legislature outlawed girl’s play altogether -- a ban not overturned until Title IX. Who gets to play sports?
7. BELONG_220630_10.JPG: Naomi Osaka "Things have to change." -- Naomi Osaka Naomi Osaka burst onto the sports scene as a 15-year-old tennis phenom -- and by 23 was a four-time grand slam champion. She challenges expectations that players are supposed to just tough it out. She has used her global platform to draw attention to issues harming athletes, including pressures affecting her own and other athletes’ mental health. Who gets to play sports?
8. BELONG_220630_13.JPG: Naomi Osaka "Things have to change." -- Naomi Osaka Naomi Osaka burst onto the sports scene as a 15-year-old tennis phenom -- and by 23 was a four-time grand slam champion. She challenges expectations that players are supposed to just tough it out. She has used her global platform to draw attention to issues harming athletes, including pressures affecting her own and other athletes’ mental health. Who gets to play sports?
9. BELONG_220630_19.JPG: Tennis racket used by Naomi Osaka during the 2020 US Open Tennis Championship.
10. BELONG_220630_32.JPG: Samantha Mewis "It. Is. Time." -- Sam Mewis Samantha Mewis played on the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team that won a World Cup title in 2019, the team’s fourth. Yet for years, the team that also won four Olympic gold medals was paid less than lesser performing male players. Mewis and other team members sued the U.S. Soccer Federation seeking equal pay and in 2021 won identical contracts to their male counterparts. Why do female athletes have to fight so hard to get paid fairly?
11. BELONG_220630_42.JPG: US National team jersey worn by Samantha Mewis when she was named US Soccer Female Player of the year, 2020.
12. BELONG_220630_54.JPG: Leo Baker "Your authenticity is your superpower." -- Leo Baker Leo Baker made the cut for the inaugural USA Skateboarding Olympic Team in 2019. But when faced with the prospect of skating for the women’s team, Baker, who identifies as trans nonbinary, decided not to compete -- and Team USA lost a potential medal winner. Baker refused to conform to a gender they did not identify with. What would happen if sports were NOT defined by gender?
13. BELONG_220630_62.JPG: T-shirt Leo Baker made to express their nonbinary gender identity, 2019.
14. BELONG_220630_68.JPG: This exhibition marks the 50th anniversary of Title IX, federal legislation championed by Congresswoman Patsy Mink and signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1972. The act unintentionally boosted long-standing efforts to open male-dominated arenas of sports. Even as Title IX protections have been expanded over the years—most recently under the Biden administration—athletes continue to face sexism, racism, transphobia, and other forms of bigotry. The stories of athletes before and after Title IX are part of a larger narrative of the struggle for equality in the United States.
15. BELONG_220630_75.JPG: Dorothy Eda Hehnke “We can’t stop them.” -- An athletic association president, 1922 In the early 1920s, Dorothy Eda Hehnke played half-court basketball at her Nebraska high school, one of few sports available to girls. At the time, most people mistakenly believed that girls could not handle the physical exertion or stress of competitive sports. In 1926 the state legislature outlawed girl’s play altogether -- a ban not overturned until Title IX. Who gets to play sports?
16. BELONG_220630_89.JPG: How have these athletes shaped the game? While their experiences on and off the field may be like or different than yours, they have all called out injustice and demanded fairness—each starting with the question: what needs to change?
17. BELONG_220630_90.JPG: Title IX was not intended to transform sports, but it did. The 1972 legislation declared that "no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." Title IX led to scholarships and better funding for women's teams -- and an increase in the number of women players from 294,000 to almost 3.4 million. Today, its promises of equal opportunity are entangled in national debates about gender, identity, and race.
18. BELONG_220630_93.JPG: Kayla Harrison "I know how to win." -- Kayla Harrison Kayla Harrison is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo. During training as a young teen, she was sexually abused by her coach. Harrison wrote a book, Fighting Back, and founded the Fearless Foundation to empower survivors of abuse to “find their mastery.” What does it take to expose and prevent abuse?
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2022 photos: This year included major setbacks -- including Putin's invasion of Ukraine and the Supreme Court imposing the evangelical version of sharia law -- but also some steps forward like the results of the midterms. This website had its 20th anniversary in August, 2022. Equipment this year: I continued to use my Fuji XS-1 cameras but, depending on the event, I also used a Nikon D7000. Trips this year: (February) a visit to see Dad and Dixie in Asheville, NC with some other members of my family, (July) a trip out west for the return of San Diego Comic-Con, and (October) a long weekend in New York to cover New York Comic-Con. Number of photos taken this year: about 386,000, up 2020 and 2021 levels but still way below pre-pandemic levels.
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