When Sanya Richards-Ross was approached by AT&T to be a part of their AT&T 28 Days campaign in honor of Black History Month, she was beyond thrilled. Despite her own notable accomplishments in track and field, the Olympic Gold Medalist was appreciative of the opportunity give back to the community, and to support the many individuals who strived to create change in the Black community.
AT&T 28 Days pairs each team with a celebrity mentor to compete through a series of weekly challenges throughout the month of February in support of local non-profit organizations. Not only do the teams get the opportunity to assist the organizations in continuing to make a difference in the communities, but they also have a chance to win the grand prize of $20,000.
As the celebrity mentor and coach of the team for The National Urban League of Young Professionals Austin chapter, Richards-Ross shares with us what she loves about the challenge, making a difference in her community, and how her team will help to make history happen.
How did you connect with AT&T for this project?
AT&T was one of my Olympic sponsors back in 2008, so I’ve always had a relationship with them. I’ve done other projects between 2008 and now, so they reached out to my management about this opportunity and I was extremely excited to be a part of it. Anything that has to do with black history, inspiring my people, and getting people excited about doing something in our communities is very exciting to me. I was really happy to be a part of it.
What is your fondest childhood memory of Black History Month?
Definitely my fondest memory was in high school. I went to a predominantly Caucasian high school in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. For Black History Month my best friend and I thought that we could do more to make it special, and so we asked our principal if we could post pictures around the school of black heroes and get a little known black history fact every morning for the month of February centered on what blacks have done in the past to make our world a better place. To me that was really special because it did make a difference, and I felt like I was doing something that was relevant.
Who is your hero in black history and why?
There are so many people that I admire. My dad used to always talk about people who were from Jamaica like Marcus Garvey. There are a lot of people that aren’t as well known and others that everyone can relate to. Being that Martin Luther King Day was just the other day and his birthday a few days ago, I think many would say he is one of the most special Black figures in history just for what he stood for, being a pastor, and having his Christian values talking about peace and equality, non-violence and love. I think we all admire and love Martin Luther King Jr. for being a great hero.
Some others that I want to be able emulate for standing for all things are Rosa Parks and Harriett Tubman for their roles in black history, and for moving the movement forward by being activists and helping other blacks by taking a stand. Those are the people that inspire me as a woman. There are tons of people that I admire.
What led you to this career?
I was born in Jamaica and I started running when I was 7. If you know anything about Jamaican culture, track and field are the two most popular sports. At 7 I was beating all the boys and girls, so I just decided to do track because I knew at an early age that I had the gift of speed. I got involved because I had the talent and I was passionate about it. I love to be the center of attention; I love to win; I love to compete, and that’s how I got involved.
Do you most often actively seek inspiration or does it find you? Or is it a combination of the two?
My inspiration comes from my faith. I have strong faith and I believe that I’ve been given a gift from God, and every time I go out and make it better that’s my gift back to Him. On those days when I don’t feel like it, I rely on my faith to get me through. I also have a wonderful family that have sacrificed so much to help me get to where I am, and they truly inspire me on days that it’s tough for me.
How do you stay at the leading edge of your craft?
The first thing is I love what I do and I’m passionate about being better, so with that comes the desire to continue to do research and to get better. I challenge my team and myself to be better every year. My track coach is phenomenal. I have the best 400-meter coach in the world. He’s been doing it a very long time so he too feels like a student of the sport. My strength coach, I challenge him to find me new ways to get my stronger and faster and really push my team to be the best, and they push me to be my best. I think when you surround yourself with great people great things happen, so that’s what I’ve been able to do.
Name two of your top role models.
I have a lot of role models. One of my role models would be Oprah Winfrey. I just love Oprah. I love what she says and what she’s done in her career, but most importantly, what she’s done for other people. I think that it’s important to have self-worth and personal success, but even more importantly what you do with that platform. People like Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou, and Angelina Jolie have tremendous success, but they also give back in such a great way. They inspire me to not just use my platform on the track to get personal wealth, but to also give back to the community.
Name three books, works, performances or exhibits that changed how you view life and yourself.
I would say that most recently watching “12 Years A Slave” has had a huge impact in my life because I think sometimes we forget how recently we were enslaved. I think we shouldn’t harbor negativity for it, but I do think that it’s important that we not forget everything that the people before us have done to allow us to have the opportunities that we have today. Going to see that movie really put that back into perspective for me—to see a free man who just because of injustice was put back into slavery for 12 years because he was captured piles on all the injustices that were happening around that time. It really touched me in a major way.
This isn’t actually a piece of work or book, even though I love Maya Angelou. I’ve read her work like I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and all of that. I think something that really affected my life was when I saw her do an interview, and I remember her just saying that when she was growing up and becoming of the age where she started to see life differently, she saw that the neurologists and astronauts and doctors were all born with the same capacities. It’s about how much you work and how much you opt to use those things that define your life. I thought that was so profound because I was like, you know she’s right. They were born with two arms just like me, and if I want to achieve greatness it just takes me working hard and dedicating myself to whatever that is. I was always inspired by that interview with Maya Angelou.
How do you define your personal brand?
I would say that it’s always difficult when you talk about defining yourself. It doesn’t always matter what you think; it matters what other people think. I hope that when people think of me they think of someone that works hard, that has persevered, and someone with integrity. I know over the years I’ve made tremendous sacrifices and I’ve always done it the right way, and that’s something that’s important to me—that I’ve always done things the right way and I have integrity with everything that I do. I guess that’s how my brand can be defined.
I also love fashion and beauty, so working hard and looking good while I’m doing it! That’s an important part of my brand. I also have my foundation in Jamaica where I try to give back. I have 700 kids in Jamaica that I work with, so it’s also been very important to me to use my platform to try to help others.
If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
It would be that every single human being got the same start. I travel all over the world and sometimes you see people, because of their circumstances whether it be poverty or health, they were never given an opportunity to go to school or just get a fair education or a fair shot at life. If I could, I would change that and everyone in the world would have the same start, and whatever you did with it from then on is on you. If you squandered it then that’s on you, but if you took full advantage of it then you get all of the opportunities in the world.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I think one of the things I would change about myself, which is a good thing sometimes but can also be a hindrance, is I over-think things a little too much and I over-analyze. It’s taught me to push and challenge myself, but it also makes me be harder on myself. I should try to not over-think things and just enjoy life and the moment, and just continue to work hard.
What does it take to be iconic? In your estimation, who has achieved that status?
I don’t think I have achieved it yet. I’m still striving to achieve that. But I do think that what it takes to be iconic is sustained excellence. I guess I kind of alluded to it earlier. For me it’s not just about reaching that status in your personal life, but also do amazing things for others. I would think iconic to me would be like Oprah, Maya Angelou, Nelson Mandela and people like that who have achieved amazing excellence, but also helped other people. I would say that I’m on my way to that status, but I haven’t achieved it yet.
