There is only ONE black female sports columnist? And Jemele Hill is good!

[shance]

Jemele Hill, 30, is a sports columnist for the Orlando Sentinel, where she has worked since February 2005. Before moving to Orlando, Hill covered Michigan State football and basketball for the Detroit Free Press for six years. While in Detroit, she covered five Final Fours, four college football national championship games, the 2004 Summer Olympics and the NBA playoffs.

Liz Cox Barrett: As a rule, columnists/opinion writers tend to be older white men. You are none of the above. According to a recent study prompted by the Associated Press Sports Editors, you were the only black female sports columnist to be found at the 305 newspapers surveyed. What do you make of that (or, in other words, why is that)? What do you bring to the task?


Jemele Hill: I think I'm going to get a license plate that says ".3" on it. Never in my life did I think I'd be the answer to a trivia question. I'm not sure what to think of it, really. On one hand, it gives me a pretty special distinction. I'm proud of what I am and what I've become. I don't mind being considered a "black columnist," because I bring those experiences to my column. On the other hand, it's sad. What does it say about our business that I'm the only one? I also won't deny there is some pressure on me because I am the only one. That can be difficult to manage at times. This is my first columnist job, so I'm going to make mistakes. But because of my age and what I represent, I'm not sure if I have much latitude.

(snip)



But I've pretty much heard every racist and sexist insult there is. That stuff doesn't bother me because I know it doesn't represent our total readership.

http://www.cjrdaily.org/behind_the_news/jemele_hill_on_being_black_fem.php