Simone Biles Is Redefining What Strength Means as a Black Woman—Here’s Why That’s So Important to Me

By Jess Sims via https://www.health.com/

When Biles withdrew from her Olympic events, it may have been shocking to some—but it felt revolutionary to me.

As a Black woman growing up in America, rest always felt like a foreign concept—not necessarily sleeping a full eight hours or taking naps, but real mental and emotional rest. So when Simone Biles, one of the most decorated American gymnasts at only 24 years old, chose to withdraw from multiple events during the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, it may have been shocking to some, but it felt revolutionary to me. It’s time that Black women follow suit and start prioritizing our mental health, too.

As Black women, we are taught to be strong. Our mothers, cognizant of the harsh and often unfair world we were entering, taught us to prioritize everything but rest as an act of survival. But that so-called badge of honor..

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