National Girls and Women in Sports Day, celebrated in early February each year since 1987, falls on Feb. 6 this year. The occasion first honored Flora Jean "Flo" Hyman, a six-foot-five, pioneering African-American athlete who used volleyball to rise out of a low-income California neighborhood, going on to win an athletic scholarship, an Olympic silver medal and international acclaim. Hyman tragically passed away during her prime in 1986 from a hereditary heart condition, but her story lives on, showing the power of sports to change a girl’s life. Yet, years later, girls in low-income areas are fighting for the chance to play.
Forty years ago, Title IX of the Education Amendments Act granted female athletes like Hyman the right to equal athletic opportunities in federally-funded educational institutions, including high schools. Since Title IX’s passage in 1972, the number of girls participating in high school sports has risen from 295,000 to more than 3 million. However, low-income girls of color in mostly urban areas have yet to reap the full rewards of Title IX or a little-known parks and recreation-focused law in California, AB 2404. Without athletic opportunities, these girls are missing pathways out of poverty through the many short- and long-term benefits of sports participation.
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