October 19, 1976 BLACK INK 11
Special feature
Where lurk the Black female athletes?
By CASSANDRA LYONS
Sports Writer
Why have some of high school’s most
promising Black female athletes neglected
to continue trying to perfect their sports
records after they enter college?
Some of America’s brightest Olympic
hopes are dimmed because young ladies
have chosen the road to colleges and
universities across the country and given
up sports altogether.
Is there some type of male chauvinistic
pressure being applied to these talented
young ladies? Are such derrogatory
names as “female jock,” “tomboy” or
statements implying that the ladies are
being a little “less” than real ladies
causing them to shy away from any sport
after they enter college? Or does the real
problem lie with the athletic programs of
these universities?
Bonita Perkins, who was an active
athlete at Dudley High School in Green
sboro, comments, “I wanted to devote
more of my time to my work my first year
here. I participated in intramural softball,
but I probably won’t this year because the
intramural program schedule is so
unorganized.”
A more active athlete at Carolina,
Milicent Fulford, who was voted best-aU-
ciround in sports while at East Carteret
High, stated, “I still participate because I
like to stay active and I like playing with
the BSM Ebony Cagers.”
It should be noted the Fulford, who has a
good chance of making the UNC women’s
basketball team this year, is seriously
questioning whether she’ll try out. She had
an unsuccessful go at it last season.
Karol Mason, a graduate of Amityville
Memorial High of Long Island, N.Y. said
that everything here is too impersonal. She
added that being a minority student is
rough because the team ratios are always
so unequal.
“As far as interscholastic sports are
concerned, the team members are
recruited directly from high school,” she
commented. This makes it extremely
difficult for anyone else to prove herself
good enough to be on the team.”
A million other excuses can be given as
to why there aren’t more Black females
around. But one thing is for sure—the
Black females aren’t putting up any fuss
about the situation.
Hawkins, a sparkle everywhere.
By RAY PERRY
Sports Writer
A black female athlete is a rare com
modity on the UNC campus. Carolyn
Hawkins is one of those precious gems. She
is currently displaying her talent with the
women’s volleyball team.
Miss Hawkins is a transfer from
Louisburg Junior College in Louisburg,
N. C., where she was an all-state per
former who led her team into the National
Junior College Women’s Volleyball
Championships. The strong suit of her
game is her ability to sjMke.
Although she thoroughly enjoys playing
volleyball, Hawkins has no desire to play
professionally.
“A woman shouldn’t put her whole life
into it (athletics),” she said.
In addition to starring on the volleyball
court, Hawkins also sparkles on tht:
basketball court. Noted by one observer
“to have more moves than ex-Lax,” she
averaged 17 points per game as ai
sophomore and was a key factor in the
Hurricanes’ placing third at the Southeast
Regionals.
Hawkins’ prowess on the athletic courts
earned her Louisburg College’s 1976 Most
Outstanding Woman Student Athlete
Award. This is a noteworthy achievement
considering that she didn’t play basketball
until her senior year in high school and
volleyball during her freshman year at
Louisburg.
“All the success that I’ve had I owe to
God-given talent,” she stated.
Commenting on the sate of women’s
athletics, the Henderson native replied,
“I’m thankful for where it is now. It could
be better, but then, it could be worse.”
Hawkins, an education major, indicated
she would like to play on the women’s
basketball team.
If she makes it she’ll be the first Black
woman to play basketball at Carolina.
w
I
staff photos by James Parker
Carolyn Hawkins; Comfortable off the court and on.
Joselyn Williams— ‘treated
like one of the guys’
By MKE DIXON
Sports Writer
Joselyn Williams is an attractive, junior
political science major. She is also a
sprinter on the women’s track team.
Joselyn grew up in the outskirts of
Henderson on a farm. She feels that this
background helped her a great deal
because of the space to run and be free or
as she put it “to run off into eternity from
time to time.”
Upon entering high school, Joselyn felt
the pressures many female athletes feel in
North Carolina. There was no real
women’s athletic program. But Joselyn
refused to abandon her love for sports.
In her senior year, Joselyn along with
her classmates led a protest at Henderson-
Vance requesting that the athletic
department create some form of sports
activities for the female athletes. Their
efforts were successful, and women were
allowed to practice with the men’s track
team. Although not completely satisfied,
Joselyn practiced with the men and
commented, “I had no real trouble getting
along with them. They treated me like one
of the guys.”
Joselyn’s real test came when she en
tered UNC. She was very interested in
women’s track but was forced to relegate
her efforts to intramurals and in
dividualized competition. She attempted
two try-outs for the UNC women’s
basketball team but was unsuccessful on
both tries. But Joselyn would not give up.
She became the intramural manager for
Eringhaus dorm!
At present, Joselyn is on the women’s
track team as a sprinter. She says, “The
track team is rou^, but the women here
are getting a chance to prove themselves.”
Her daily schedule at the track includes
two miles and flexibility drills. It’s a rough
schedule but she enjoys it.
Joselyn also enjoys playing sports with
men. She remarked, “I enjoy participating
in sports with men because they usually
offer more challenging competition than
women do. For instance, I haven’t met a
man yet who can beat me in racquetball! ”
Joselyn is quite versatile too. She plays
about 10 sports that include basketball,
racquetball, soccer, softball and tennis.
Strangely enough, Joselyn feels her
social life has not been affected by her
active participation in sports. She says
“Many men want to go out with me
because they feel I am a challenge.”
But men give her the utmost respect, for
they must admire the hidden drive within
her.
Through all of her accomplishments,
Joselyn gives God credit for all of her
talent. She said, “I can’t do all these things
by myself. Someone up there has given me
the talent and I’m just using it.”
Staff photo by James Parker
Former Carolina track standout Reggie Jones converses with Howard player, Trevor
Leiba: a reunion of old friends.
Next Issue
Part Two of Black Women Athletes examines further the
role of the Black female in Carolina sports, including
interviews with women's head basketball coach Angela
Lumpkin and Black varsity cheerleader Pamela Parham.
Also, Sports Editor Lonza Hardy dares to write another
column and “Readers Rap" returns.