EP 9 Florence Griffith Joyner - Speed in Style I Women And Resistance 🌍

In this conversation, Flo Jo, played by Aya Fubara Eneli, shares her journey from a challenging upbringing to becoming a legendary track and field athlete. She discusses her family influences, the importance of self-expression in sports, and the barriers she faced as a woman in the athletic world. 

Flo Jo reflects on her Olympic achievements, the challenges of policing female bodies in sports, and her dedication to empowering young people through sports programs. She emphasises the significance of believing in oneself and the impact of her legacy on future generations.

Takeaways

*Flo Jo's journey was shaped by her close-knit family and their support.
*She faced challenges in her early athletic career but persevered through hard work.
*Breaking barriers in women's sports was a significant part of her legacy.
*Her Olympic achievements include multiple gold medals and world records.
*Flo Jo emphasised the importance of self-expression in sports, particularly for women.
*She faced scrutiny and policing of her body and appearance in the sport.
Flo Jo was dedicated to empowering young people through sports programs.
*She believed in the importance of mental resilience and discipline in athletics.
*Her legacy continues to inspire future generations of athletes.
*Flo Jo encouraged individuals to embrace their uniqueness and authenticity.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Flo Jo and Her Legacy
01:43 Early Life and Family Influence
03:31 The Journey to Becoming an Athlete
05:45 Breaking Barriers in Women's Sports
07:58 Olympic Achievements and Records
10:19 Challenges Faced in the Sport
12:39 Life Beyond Track and Field
15:05 Legacy and Impact on Future Generations
17:07 Policing Female Bodies in Sports
19:22 Empowerment Through Self-Expression
21:34 The Importance of Community Support
23:36 Mental Resilience and Personal Growth
25:59 Cultural Identity and Representation
27:57 Final Thoughts and Inspirational Messages

Welcome  to Women and Resistance, a powerful podcast where we honour the courage, resilience, and revolutionary spirit of women across the globe. Hosted by Aya Fubara Eneli Esq and Adesoji Iginla...

You're listening to Women and Resistance with Aya Fubara Eneli Esq and Adesoji Iginla—where we honour the voices of women who have shaped history through courage and defiance...Now, back to the conversation.

That’s it for this episode of Women and Resistance. Thank you for joining us in amplifying the voices of women who challenge injustice and change the course of history. Be sure to subscribe, share, and continue the conversation. Together We Honour the past, act in the present, and shape the future. Until next time, stay inspired and stay in resistance!

Transcript

Adesoji Iginla (00:02.242)
Yes. Greetings, greetings, and welcome to another episode of Women and Resistance. I'm your host, one of your hosts, Adesaji Gilla. And with me, before she enters into character, here's Aya Fubera in Nellie Esquire. Good evening, sister.

Aya Fubara Eneli (00:20.526)
Good evening. Good evening, everyone.

Adesoji Iginla (00:24.618)
Okay, and today, like we've done previous weeks before, we're looking at the license times of Florence Griffin Joyner, otherwise known as Flo Joe. Without taking the thunder away from my sister, the first question would probably be, could you tell us who Flo Joe was?

Aya Fubara Eneli (00:58.216)
so much more than what most people know me for. Certainly my nails are legendary and I loved jewelry and hair and makeup and of course the one leg unitard, that bodysuit, definitely legendary and it's beautiful to see other people emulating what is now recognized as my iconic style.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:31.2)
But few people know that I was a poet. In fact, when I retired from track and field, one of my goals was to throw myself into becoming a writer at a level of excellence, similarly to what I did with track. And I was well aware that

I couldn't pursue both with excellence, at least what I considered excellence. And I was very much looking forward to that next chapter of my life in so many different ways. And so if you know that I'm a poet and my book is really hard to find, but maybe this will resurrect it. I wrote a book of poems and just life musings. was...

The seventh of 11 children, my family is definitely one that would have been considered poor. My father was an electrician and my mother was a seamstress. And I grew up in Los Angeles in the Watts area. There were definitely economic challenges, but we were so close knit as a family and that love and that

connection and then just the dreams my parents had for us and the way they modeled for us, who we should be.

Obviously very impactful in my life. I was born Florence Dolores Griffith and My nickname which is something that a lot of people may not know is actually Dee Dee my whole family calls me Dee Dee My nieces my nephews and of course, I have a lot of them all call me Dee Dee. My father was Robert

Aya Fubara Eneli (03:35.414)
and I'm named after my mother who was Florence. Sometimes when, know, I towards the end of my life, I definitely spent a lot of time as a motivational speaker. I'm sorry if my medals are a little distracting. You know, some people would meet me and they would, you know, haven't seen me on TV.

Adesoji Iginla (03:52.438)
My doors are getting...

Aya Fubara Eneli (04:05.6)
streaking across the screens as it would be. I would expect like a different kind of person when they meet me and I would often hear people remark, well, but you're so kind of quiet and soft spoken. some could say that had to do with the fact that as a child, I had a speech impediment and you know, children can be quite cruel.

Adesoji Iginla (04:30.798)
Mm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (04:34.468)
when you are unusual. so I was reserved. I was a little shy as a younger girl. I actually let other aspects of myself do the talking and not so much my voice. I started running. I mean, first and foremost with my family, know, we were, we just moved. We were all very athletic and with my brothers.

Whatever they were playing, was going to play basketball, football, they're running. As a matter of fact, one of the things that we used to love to do is to walk on our hands. So you do a handstand and then you walk on your hands. And we would do that all through the neighborhood. And the goal was to see who could stay on the longest. And it was always my goal to outdo everybody. Couldn't always, but.

Adesoji Iginla (05:22.592)
and stay on the longest.

Aya Fubara Eneli (05:30.37)
I kept working on it. But I started running with the Sugar Ray Robinson Youth Foundation when I was just seven years old. And it really speaks to the importance of giving back to your community because obviously Sugar Ray Robinson and his family had created this and it was an opportunity for me. I got to go one day a week. I would love to see.

programs where youth were able to tap into whatever their gifts or their talents or hobbies were more frequently, regardless of whether they were financially well to do or not. But you know, at a very young age, people recognized how fast I was. I had an older brother who would always beat me, and I could beat just about all my other siblings.

and I would always try to get him to race me. And when I was younger, he would actually run backwards while I was doing my best to run forward. And it was so frustrating, but it also taught me that, you know, my hair is kind of getting in the way. also says people also used to be concerned, like, how does she run with this hair, you know, when the wind and everything, but

You know, it's just who I was and it was part of my personality and so it is what it is. But it just taught me that you never give up, right? You just, you keep practicing. And so something that I would always say is believe, achieve, succeed. That was definitely a motive for me. And I would have it written all over my room to the extent that I had a room. We shared spaces, obviously, but as I got older,

Believe, achieve, succeed. And that's a message that I definitely found powerful and that I want young people, regardless of their circumstances, to focus on. believe, achieve, succeed. Thank you for asking me to repeat that. So I attended Jordan High School.

Adesoji Iginla (07:42.594)
Belief. You said belief.

Aya Fubara Eneli (07:56.548)
And I was always really interested in just being the best version of myself that I could be. And, we didn't have a lot of financial resources. And so I ended up attending Cal State and I ran track. But then the program, the track program was shut down when the school lost its funding.

and I couldn't afford to stay in school without it. And so I dropped out of school. I needed to help out financially with my family and I became a bank teller. I also worked as a customer representative. But you know what? No matter what I was doing, I had my signature style. In fact, when I was a student, it's so funny because now I see some of these fashion trends.

And I just chuckled to myself because when I was a student, would like elementary middle school, I would wear different colored socks, like one on one leg and a different, totally different color on the other leg. And of course, people just looked at me like, my God, she's weird. I would always have my hair done and I didn't follow convention. I just did what I liked. And again, people would always kind of.

you know, make comments and things of that nature. But I didn't let that bother me, you know, I had a strong sense of who I was. And then of course, by the time I got into high school and I was running, I mean, I actually started to convince my teammates to bedazzle themselves a little bit more, to explore their feminine side a little bit more.

Adesoji Iginla (09:33.474)
Mm-hmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (09:54.924)
You know, I think some can credit me with bringing a certain level of femininity to sports and definitely to track and field. That yes, we can be fast. And yes, it definitely is a sport and we're athletes. But that doesn't mean that we can't come with a fashion sense. We can't have our nails done or lipstick or, you know, our hair in different styles, you know, like we could still express ourselves.

Adesoji Iginla (10:01.088)
into the game, to the sports. Yeah.

Aya Fubara Eneli (10:24.098)
and do our work or do our job as athletes. I think I helped change how women were supposed to be perceived or what they needed to look like to be taken seriously in that sport. And I hope that that's something that actually resonates in other careers that women have that we don't have to become.

Adesoji Iginla (10:36.76)
Seriously.

Aya Fubara Eneli (10:51.392)
female versions of men. You know, we can be ourselves. You can be authentically who you are. And so I did meet Bob Kersey. Some of you may know him from the, yes, he's a coach, husband to Jackie Joyner Kersey, who ended up being my sister-in-law. And he recognized my talent and he was actually crucial.

Adesoji Iginla (11:03.468)
the coach.

Aya Fubara Eneli (11:19.99)
in getting me into UCLA. So that's where I transferred to was University of California, Los Angeles. And that is really where my track career, you would say, just really took off. At UCLA, I won the NCAA championship in the 200 meters in 1982. I earned multiple all American honors.

And of course I contributed to UCLA's Pac-10 track victories. And it was just, it was an exhilarating time, but it was also a frustrating time. I think people see my accolades and they don't know the story behind it. So I was really horrible at getting out of the blocks. I could run.

Adesoji Iginla (11:53.934)
Mm.

Adesoji Iginla (12:01.965)
Why so?

Aya Fubara Eneli (12:15.3)
but I was so bad at getting out of the blocks. And if you know anything about particularly the shorter races, the sprints, you have to be able to explode out of the blocks. And that was just truly pun intended an Achilles heel for me. And Bob Kersey just helped me work on that. There were many practices that ended up with me just.

Adesoji Iginla (12:23.306)
the sprints

Aya Fubara Eneli (12:43.65)
being in tears, so frustrated, just wanting to give up. And there were times when I'm like, forget the block, I'm just gonna run. But you know, that leaves you so much more room to make up, you know? And with practice, with diligence, with dedication, just not focusing on how frustrated I was, I got to the point where, boy, was I fast out of the blocks. And that really made all the difference.

Adesoji Iginla (12:51.278)
You

Aya Fubara Eneli (13:13.752)
The other thing about me is I understood the importance of being strong, of strength, right? You look at any of my pictures, I mean, I'm retired now, so my muscles aren't quite bulging in the same way. But that was definitely, I know, something that attracted people, especially when I would wear my one-legged unitards. It was a very striking...

Adesoji Iginla (13:36.683)
You're dead.

Aya Fubara Eneli (13:41.344)
image and I and I understood that because I wanted more for my life than just running track so I was positioning myself and you know I made those myself remember I told you my mother was a seamstress and I learned how to sew at a very young age so I made all of my own uniforms myself and then you know would put on whatever logo for whoever was sponsoring me at the time but I

Adesoji Iginla (13:55.438)
Okay.

Aya Fubara Eneli (14:11.136)
you know, overcame that frustration of the issue with the blocks. Bob Kersey is an amazing coach and I understood the importance of strength and so I spent quite a bit of time also weight training. I loved lifting weights. This was just truly my happy place and it showed. Now of course, you know, I wasn't immune.

to some of the whispers about my body or quote unquote that I came out overnight or whatever. But those are just from people who don't know me and have not taken the time to really understand what my trajectory was and just how disciplined I was and how hard I worked. I think there were some people who were also prone to want to...

Adesoji Iginla (14:46.07)
enhanced.

Adesoji Iginla (15:07.006)
me any name.

Aya Fubara Eneli (15:07.402)
Yeah, know, well, marginalize me because it's not possible for me to be everything that I was and to set the records that I did and yet to show up in the form that I did. And, you know, another thing that I always said to myself is, you know, when people tell me I can't do something, you know how I respond? I just stop listening to them.

Adesoji Iginla (15:33.624)
gone.

Mmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (15:36.42)
I just stopped listening to them. I mean, I don't have to talk back to them. I don't have anything to prove to anybody. My focus was always on my level of excellence, going out there and running as fast as I could, regardless of what everybody else was doing. And so I won silver in the Olympics, the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, which was really great because it was my hometown.

and I won silver in the 200 meters. And once I got that taste of what was possible, boy, did I ever train, you know? And in 1988 at the Seoul Olympics, I set, actually I set the record that still stands. Oh my God, 1988 till now, what are we talking about?

Adesoji Iginla (16:20.512)
Olympics.

Aya Fubara Eneli (16:36.116)
37 years that record did some people say was wind aided they were investigations later that said yeah maybe the wind you know whatever that the it was yeah that it wasn't you know working as well whatever but the record stands and that was in the trials and of course i went on to win

Adesoji Iginla (16:51.084)
We stood, still stood the record.

Aya Fubara Eneli (17:01.54)
the 100 meter world record. I have the 100 meter world record of 10.49 seconds. But at the 1988 Olympics, I won the 100 meters, I won the 200 meters, and I also set a world record in that. And I also got gold in the four by 100 relay. And we earned a silver in the four by 400 relay. And that I think was when I was just catapulted.

into the stratosphere if you will. One of my favorite moments was seeing a montage of you know the games at the end that was set to Whitney Houston's One Moment in Time. If you haven't seen that montage I'm sure on your YouTube or something it exists. My goodness it was amazing. I felt like I was literally floating on air.

Adesoji Iginla (17:42.158)
Mmm.

Adesoji Iginla (17:50.466)
Yep. Yep. Yep.

Aya Fubara Eneli (18:00.068)
And that was a life-changing experience for me. It opened up so many doors. Of course, the endorsements and the advertisements were amazing. Right before then in 1987, I had married the love of my life, Al Joyner, who is Jackie Joyner-Kersey.

Adesoji Iginla (18:28.778)
and Cassie's brother.

Aya Fubara Eneli (18:29.752)
brother and he was also an Olympic gold champion in the triple jump. It was just a beautiful time to be alive. I did always deal with some other health issues that again we did not publicize. Very few people knew what was going on. In addition to track and field

and of course designing my own clothes, I actually was hired or, you know, yeah, they hired me to design the uniforms for the Indiana Pacers. And I believe had I not died, that would have just been just like the beginning for me in terms of truly becoming a fashion mogul. I also was an artist. Some people don't know that.

And I was featured in an Olympian artist exhibit and my artwork has been shown in different places as well. I was very much concerned about youth and providing for youth opportunities that perhaps because of their financial situations they didn't have. And so I started my own foundation and I was never too busy to go speak to a school to spend time with some youth.

Adesoji Iginla (19:53.315)
Mm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (19:59.012)
to pour into them and I was very much energized by them as well. And just letting them know, you know, you have to chart your own course. You have to be who God has created you to be, regardless of whether people understand you and your vision for your life. So some of the companies that endorsed me, which was really big back then for a black.

female athlete. Nike, Tide, Honda, Kellogg's, Coca-Cola. At that time, I was the highest paid female track athlete, period. And again, I think that that could have just gone a lot further. There are of course many books that have been written about me, interestingly enough, and I'm not upset about it.

Most of these books are geared towards young girls. They're geared to children's books. But of course in anthologies about track and field and about women and sports, you will almost always find some information about me. But my book of poetry and other life musings is really difficult to come by. I was raised actually as a Seventh-day Adventist. And...

Adesoji Iginla (21:01.304)
Yeah.

Aya Fubara Eneli (21:24.778)
So we had very strict rules in terms of how we showed up and just, you know, respect for ourselves and respect for other people. And I hope that as people think about who I was and my legacy, that that always came across just the excellence with which my parents raised us. Of course, I got to grace quite a few magazine covers.

Adesoji Iginla (21:52.802)
Hmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (21:53.75)
Sports Illustrated, Time Magazine, Ebony, Jet, Essence, Vogue, and Women's Sports and Fitness. And again, that was just wonderful, particularly for my community to see a Black woman and to see a Black woman who came from such modest means make it to what some would consider the pinnacle.

Adesoji Iginla (21:55.342)
It did, yeah.

Aya Fubara Eneli (22:23.518)
of the athletic world. I also dabbled in acting. I had a couple of appearances on the sitcom called 227. Of course, Regina King was a child at the time who was also featured on 227. I also appeared on the new Hollywood Squares. And actually,

At the time of my death, I was working on a screenplay for my life. We were going to, were in talks about producing a biopic of my life. But that was cut, you know, cut short. Doesn't mean that it won't come around again. I don't know. What else would you like to know about me? Yes.

Adesoji Iginla (23:17.324)
So question, yeah, quick question. Quick question would be, obviously you talked about the laurels you won in the course of your athletic and sprint career. In the course of doing that, I believe in, was it the 1984 Olympics, there was an event that happened when you were asked to cut your nails because apparently you might drop the baton.

And even when you did, you subsequently didn't make the team because they said you waited too long. So the question would be, what was it like during that time for the sport bodies to police female bodies as it were? I mean, we're talking about, obviously you end your place getting there.

But to now say you get there and you now have to conform to our rules after. I mean, that doesn't disturb your performance, but the question would. Yeah.

Aya Fubara Eneli (24:27.652)
Exactly. mean, obviously my teammates knew that I could take the pass the baton. could get the baton, all of that. You know, I think you raise a bigger issue about the policing period of women's bodies. And in the USA today, you know, a country that I so proudly represented.

Adesoji Iginla (24:31.992)
Mm-hmm.

You

Aya Fubara Eneli (24:55.696)
Knowing that my daughter, because I did have one daughter, Mary, Mary is just the love of my life, today has fewer rights as a woman to her body than I did at the time of my death. And that's just so crazy because we're supposed to be growing and evolving and doing better. And so to be going backwards in this way. it was, was.

Adesoji Iginla (25:08.43)
Hmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (25:25.026)
It was another frustrating part of my life. mean, there were a lot of judgments about my look. There were a lot of judgments about my hair. Was I compromising, you know, representing the country properly because my hair would be a distraction. And I think that you see that often with black women because didn't they make a big deal about Venus and Serena?

and the beads in their hair, you know, like, come on, they're the ones playing the tennis. How is their hairstyle bothering you exactly? And so, of course I did not want to cut my nails. You know, at one point my nails were six inches long. And it was a form of self-expression. It was a part of me. You know, it's like someone telling you to cut your hair. well, on that note, they are sometimes policing people's hair.

I recently heard about a young man who has locks and was wrestling and he was told he had to cut his locks or forfeit his match and he was on his way to winning maybe the top medal. And it's like, what does the hair have to do? Like, does that give him some kind of advantage? So was very frustrating. And yes, I battled with myself as to whether to do it or not.

But you know, ultimately just kind of, hey, this is what I've trained for. This is the moment that I've trained for. The nails can grow back. I don't like it. But I will go ahead and cut the nails. And then...

Aya Fubara Eneli (27:14.158)
just the audacity to then say, wait a second. Okay, you cut it, but you didn't cut it in the time that we thought you should. You know, there's politics everywhere and I won't say anymore because I believe in just being positive and being light. But I just wonder if there was more going on behind the scenes and a really concerted effort to ensure that I was not part of that squad at that time.

Adesoji Iginla (27:38.786)
Mm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (27:44.088)
But again, the best response is excellence. Anytime people question you or try to put you down. And so these kind of things would just cause me to train harder. And it wasn't, of course, the only time that my body was policed. I I very much support drug testing in sports. I do not believe at all in doing drugs. That's crazy.

Adesoji Iginla (27:57.656)
Mmm. Mmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (28:14.056)
Your body is all you have. And again, because I knew of my health issues, I would never do drugs. And so at the Seoul Olympic, they actually tested me 11 times. And each time I was clean. Now, some people have speculated that the reason I retired and did not continue

Adesoji Iginla (28:28.952)
Hmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (28:42.988)
in track and field was that by the next Olympics, there were more stringent kind of testing going on. And again, these are just people who are determined to push a certain narrative. I had come and I had conquered. I had my baby in 1990 and I wanted to spend time with my child and I wanted to do other things.

Adesoji Iginla (28:50.798)
Mm-hmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (29:12.324)
which I got to do, but not for very long, because as you are aware, I died in my sleep in 1998. And so...

Adesoji Iginla (29:16.812)
Mmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (29:29.412)
It's what it is. And for anybody dealing with these kind of issues at this time, just don't give up because there always will be detractors. There will always be people trying to rain on your parade. But if you are sure of who you are and confident in that, you can overcome. You can overcome it all.

Adesoji Iginla (29:55.032)
So you said at the beginning that you got your initial chance to show your skills with the Sugar Ray Robinson Foundation and subsequently the Jason Owens sports program.

What would you say now to the government in the United States that's seeking to take away those programs because they believe, I mean, these are their words, I'm paraphrasing now, it advantage a certain group over another group.

Aya Fubara Eneli (30:45.892)
You know, I could go into the story of how my father became an electrician even back then and how difficult it was and the challenges he had to overcome. What is clear to me when we look at the history of my people in this country is that we've always had to fight for whatever we want.

they don't see the advantages they give themselves. They don't see how they hold others back or maybe they do and they don't care because that's precisely the point. And I think it baffles them that in spite of so many obstacles, we still find ways to rise above, to showcase who we are, to inspire, to change the world. And so

I say to them, this is a losing battle. Like you've done worse and we still found a way. And to my community, I say, don't ever stop believing in the youth.

Don't ever stop pouring into the youth. And if the government doesn't want to, that's fine. We can choose to take care of our own. We should always take care of our own. Just like my parents somehow, know, raised 11 children on their meager salary. And my mother taking them work as it seems stressful. So it's unfortunate because there's so much that a young person can learn from sports.

Adesoji Iginla (32:32.878)
The discipline.

Aya Fubara Eneli (32:34.05)
you know, just the discipline, the mental resilience because Al, you know, my husband and I always approach the sport from a total, a holistic perspective.

You know, it was body, but it was also your mind. It was also your spirit. And so you'd often see me, you know, if you watch videos of my races or you even just see some of the still shots, you will see me praying as a very prayerful woman. And. But we believed you, have to come into sport.

with your mind, right? You know, you had to that mental toughness. You also obviously had to have the discipline to build your body and then just having that spiritual part of it. And so...

you know, looking at what they're doing in the arena of athletics and sports, I would just say that we have to be the ones who create what we want for our young people. We don't need to wait on anybody else. understanding that sports is one way that young people can develop their minds.

Adesoji Iginla (33:55.342)
Mm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (33:56.26)
strengthen their ability, their resilience, if you will, keep their bodies healthy and strong, you know, because we know how diseases just kind of run rampant through, you know, poorer communities. And to the extent that some of us were able to use athletics as a springboard for, yes.

Adesoji Iginla (34:22.626)
Means of escape.

Aya Fubara Eneli (34:25.666)
You know, definitely track and field was a means of me escaping the ghetto. That is absolutely true. And once I got out, I just wanted to find a way to help as many other people get out. And I also wanted to make sure I didn't go back in. know, so my daughter had very different experiences than what I had. And that's why I pursued.

Adesoji Iginla (34:31.19)
Economica escape,

Adesoji Iginla (34:52.046)
Hmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (34:54.744)
You know, all my passions, I just was really focused on life beyond even track and field as excellent as it was and as much as I enjoyed it.

Adesoji Iginla (35:06.126)
We've seen in recent times, Shaqari Richardson experienced the same thing in terms of policing actions both on and off the track. So the question would be, she seems to take Borel Lee from you because she's very stylish. So the question would be,

can still be a legitimate tool of protest and self-determination for Black women in historical white spaces.

Aya Fubara Eneli (35:40.676)
It always has been. mean, just look at what we do with our hair. I mean, we can come in 30 days and have a totally different look all 30 days. We're the only ones who can do it. And we'll pull it off with the class that we do. And so, yeah, absolutely. And we've been resisting with that for a long time. I mean, even if you go as far back as...

laws that were set in place for black women to make sure their hair was tied up. But then you go on the continent and you see what my sisters are doing with their head ties and their guillies. That too becomes a work of art. Everything we do is so infused with spirit that it becomes a marvel. It sets the path. mean, we're literally the ones who...

Adesoji Iginla (36:32.802)
Hmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (36:37.056)
dictate what is cool and stylish across the world. And so yes, for black women, absolutely how we show up can be a form of protest. It can be a form of asserting who we are. It can be a form of taking space, you know, not just fading into the, what would they say, the wallpaper, just like, yes, I'm here.

I'm bold, I'm beautiful, I'm colorful, and guess what? I'd still kick your butt on this field. there's nothing you can do about it. I mean, there's a word I wanna use, but my mother would cringe, so I would refrain from it, but how amazing is that? But if you were wondering what the word is, it starts with, it's like two parts to the word.

Adesoji Iginla (37:27.886)
Mm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (37:34.404)
and the first part of the word starts with B and the second part of the word starts with A. We are just like amazing. Call us unicorns if you will. And I definitely encourage my sisters to continue to express themselves. Can you imagine if I was still alive today? There's no question how I have had a whole nail collection, hair collection, definitely the fashion piece.

definitely my poetry because I've been determined to really become a great writer. And so my message to my sisters is...

Don't ever compromise. I like, I understand, you you're going for a job interview, that kind of thing. That might not be the time for your full self-expression. So, you know, use wisdom. But I would also very much tell my fellow sisters to embrace who they are and to explore who they are. Because I think, again, sometimes society can put so many restrictions on us.

that we lose our sense of self. And if you lose your sense of who you are, you are of no use to anyone else.

Adesoji Iginla (38:47.446)
Mm.

Adesoji Iginla (38:55.95)
Okay, you

Aya Fubara Eneli (39:00.516)
I did want to share, I know you have some more questions for me and I promise I will answer them. I wanted to share just some of my quotes. If they're young people watching, maybe this is something that could inspire them. Conventional is not for me. I like things that are uniquely flow. I like being different. And I see so many young people now.

Adesoji Iginla (39:10.965)
Yeah, please do.

Aya Fubara Eneli (39:30.504)
dealing with mental health challenges because they are different and they're not accepted. Yes. And of course, like with the question you asked the example you gave of them trying to insist that I cut my nails and all of that. It's like the world always wants us to just be like these robots, these cookie cutter things that they can control. But I embraced being different from a young age.

Adesoji Iginla (39:37.848)
Seeking to confirm. Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (39:52.288)
You

Aya Fubara Eneli (40:00.484)
Yeah, I didn't speak too much. I'm still soft spoken. But I let other aspects of myself really speak up for me and I'm loud in that way, right? So there's no way, I don't care how many competitors that were on the field, you were gonna notice flow gel. It's just what it was. Something else that I would like to share is, I always said this, I don't do drugs.

I've never taken any drugs and I don't believe in them. And so for people who would still try to malign my legacy and say, my God, you know, how could she go that fast? Listen, records are made to be broken. You know, for centuries, it seems no one could break a four point, a four minute mile. But once it was broken,

Adesoji Iginla (40:48.194)
Yeah.

Aya Fubara Eneli (40:59.968)
Like in quick succession, so many other people were able to break, you know, run under four minute, under a four minute mile. And so don't malign me because I set this record. Do the work to break the record. But, know, whoever else comes, whatever other record to

have a record that has set the test of time in this way is something that I'm very proud of. And I have to tell you, my entire family is really proud of. In fact, there's a documentary my daughter made, Mary, made about me. And in it, they interview some of my nieces and nephews and my uncles and aunts. And they each...

Adesoji Iginla (41:31.854)
All right.

Aya Fubara Eneli (41:55.844)
started to recount when they heard that I had broken the record because you know it's not like we have money to fly everybody out whatever so they were watching and my brother my brother was actually a bus driver he was driving the bus and had the little radio right next to him to hear the results and he says he tells the story that

Adesoji Iginla (42:07.81)
Hmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (42:26.486)
when he heard that I had broken the world record, he pulled his bus over. He just had to hear it again. I'm so glad he didn't get fired, but that's how close we were and how supportive my family was of me. In fact, after my death,

You know, Al, my husband, had such a hard time. We were truly, truly, truly close. And my mother ended up raising my daughter, Mary. That's just how close we were. But let me read a little bit more to you here, and then I will take your question.

Aya Fubara Eneli (43:21.508)
To do justice to a lifelong dream of being a writer, these were remarks I made upon my retirement. To do justice to a lifelong dream of being a writer, I must give it the intense concentration and focus I gave to track. To do both with excellence is not possible. It is with a sense of sadness and joyous anticipation.

Adesoji Iginla (43:41.723)
Mm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (43:51.812)
that I leave track and move on.

Adesoji Iginla (43:56.206)
I believe that quote comes from your mom who said when you get impeded by anything just move on.

Aya Fubara Eneli (44:06.168)
Yes, yes. And so, you know, I was fortunate enough to serve on the President's Council, to speak to youth all across the country and even outside of the country. I even had a Barbie doll that was made in my image, which again was also kind of path breaking back then, especially when there were so few dolls that...

represented black people. Of course there's a documentary out on me called Flow Joe, which was such a creative title, but it was on the ESPN Olympiad channel, so you might still be able to find that. And Mary, like I said, also created a tribute documentary celebrating my mother's life.

Adesoji Iginla (44:36.204)
represented your.

Aya Fubara Eneli (45:05.28)
Well, celebrating her mother's life, you know. So. I used to have seizures quite a bit. Some say it was due to epilepsy. Again, this was something we kept on the wraps and. On September 21st, 1998.

Aya Fubara Eneli (45:31.5)
One of the things Mary and I used to love to do was watch movies and that the night leading up to the morning when I passed away, we had stayed up just watching movies. We watched three different movies back to back and Mary was in the bed with me and there was a prayer that I taught her to pray every night before she would go to sleep.

Adesoji Iginla (45:58.722)
Hmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (45:59.012)
And so we prayed this prayer together. And one part of the prayer says, and if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.

Adesoji Iginla (46:09.782)
And learn, I saw to take. Yeah.

Aya Fubara Eneli (46:16.29)
I really wish it hadn't happened this way. But I mean, in the sense of my daughter being right next to me when I died, she was in the bed with me, but I have no regrets about the time that I spent my last hours with her, making memories with her, laughing, having fun. Well, that morning,

Aya Fubara Eneli (46:45.056)
Mary was still sleeping next to me and Al came to wake me up and...

Aya Fubara Eneli (46:55.714)
I guess he turned me over and my eyes just kind of were just like rolled back he said and according to Mary he let out a scream that she would never forget and Mary only seven years old said in that moment she just knew even without totally understanding what it meant but she knew her mother was gone she knew I was gone and that that scream from Al still haunts her till today

She's found peace. she's an amazing woman. You need to check her out. She teaches gymnastics and she writes and she's a dancer and she's a mom and

And to my mother, I just want to thank you for raising my daughter and loving her the way that you did. But at any rate...

I had so much life that I wanted to live, so much that I wanted to do, but it was obviously not meant to be. But I am gratified that my legacy still lives on in my daughter and also in the records and just the footage that exists out there about what this little girl from Watts was able to accomplish.

Adesoji Iginla (48:20.142)
So the question I wanted to pose earlier was, what does the suspicion around your records reveal about race and the greater sporting society?

Aya Fubara Eneli (48:46.126)
You know, it's always something, isn't it? Now, again, I am totally against drugs and doping and all of that, but there's just really something about black people and our excellence that just irks those who feel that we should stay in, yeah, and stay in the background. And obviously, you know, in sports like track and field, we're...

Adesoji Iginla (49:05.326)
Part 2 will be released.

Aya Fubara Eneli (49:15.524)
Especially when you talk about the sprints, know, black people are definitely dominating. Of course, they have all these. It's so funny, right? The research about, well, because our muscles are this way, we're better at the short races. But then again, when it comes to the long races that many of our Kenyan brothers and, you know, brothers from East Africa and sisters are winning, then it's like, well, it's because of

So and so it's like, okay, like human beings are different. We have different environments that we grew up in and...

Aya Fubara Eneli (49:56.638)
don't be so threatened by us. know, do what you're good at and let's do what we're good at. But you know, what you see is that we're good at everything. And the only thing that has kept us from shining in most arenas is the fact that there has been this discrimination, very vigorous attempt to keep us out. Look at the National Basketball Association and

You you go back 60, 70 years and all the stars are a white man. And I guess at that point you could say white men can jump. And I loved all people. But then, you know, you get some black men who get into the league and then it starts to change. And people aren't quite sure how to respond except to say that we have some undue advantage. And again,

Adesoji Iginla (50:33.624)
Mm-hmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (50:53.32)
I would tell people don't waste too much of your energy on things of that nature. Like just focus on you, focus on what you came to do. And beyond the realm of track and field and athleticism, it was very important to me to help to spread the word about the importance of just taking care of your body. In fact, I would, you know, we all have muscles, whether we can see them or not.

Adesoji Iginla (50:58.766)
Hmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (51:22.724)
But I would often tell people that a muscle is like a car.

Adesoji Iginla (51:27.639)
Yeah.

Aya Fubara Eneli (51:29.374)
And if you just get into your car, it's been a little cold, it's been sitting for a while, you don't let it idle and warm up a little bit before you just take off. You're gonna eventually create some issues for you and that car. And so always tell people, muscle is like a car. If you want it to run well, early in the morning, you have to warm it up. And so for people like, I don't have the money, I don't have the resources, I need a trainer and all, no you don't.

Adesoji Iginla (51:43.831)
Hmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (51:59.384)
You just need the will. You you can get up and stretch. You can walk to the corner store instead of driving. You can take the stairs instead of the elevator. I think it's actually cheaper to go and buy some vegetables than it is to take a family out to a fast food restaurant. But we have to be willing to make some of these health changes.

Adesoji Iginla (52:10.67)
What this?

Aya Fubara Eneli (52:27.084)
Now, you know, upon my death, there were some...

Aya Fubara Eneli (52:35.044)
Understandably so. Some tension between my mother maybe and my husband Al. I was somewhat fatigued towards the end. I didn't realize that that would be the end. In fact, I remember speaking at an event in Columbus, Ohio and people were so

Generous and just so many people wanted to meet me and I was I think my flight had been delayed like we got in late and you know I barely got dressed and got their head on a simple black dress and I gave my remarks But I'm telling you everything in me wanted to just go and lay down But here are these people who had bought tickets to come and see me and they were now lined up and just you know Just wanting to have that interaction

Adesoji Iginla (53:10.114)
Mm.

Adesoji Iginla (53:28.268)
Wanting to have a, yeah.

Aya Fubara Eneli (53:30.696)
And you know, my husband was trying to get me to wind down because he knew the toll it was taking on me. But you know, I stayed. I stayed till that last person in line. And my mother felt that perhaps I'll then protect me enough knowing the health challenges I had.

Adesoji Iginla (53:34.57)
Move.

Aya Fubara Eneli (53:57.444)
You know, I was always a woman who spoke up for and advocated for myself. And so I haven't been a mother understand a mother's pain and But yeah, I that was not where I wanted to see my family. And, you know, at some point, even Mary was, you know, had a little bit of a distant relationship with her father. But

Adesoji Iginla (54:16.738)
Mm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (54:27.364)
I was glad to see that they were able to get on the path of healing. But it's so important that we take care of our health. And then, yes, certainly if you have someone in your family who has some particular health concerns that you are doing your part to help support them. Another quote that I would always share with kids and that I would definitely want to share with your listeners is,

Adesoji Iginla (54:30.252)
Hmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (54:56.51)
I believe in the impossible because no one else does. And so with everything, the challenges that are coming with...

education and sports and the arts, you know, I also very interested in the arts.

It's time for us to do the impossible. Like we've done before. Like I just never let other people and their schemes take me off course. And that's what I would say at this time. There's so much I wanna share.

Adesoji Iginla (55:20.735)
Mm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (55:42.454)
Like I shared with you earlier, I always overworked in the weight room. I loved working with weights. I knew that my strength would give me an edge. So again, for those athletes, whatever your sport may be, you want to get strong. That's going to really help to differentiate you from the rest of the field. And that's what you want.

Adesoji Iginla (56:08.046)
Yes, and with that edge, we've.

Aya Fubara Eneli (56:15.972)
Well, can I just share some, especially since my medals keep jingling, can I just share some of my honors? And of course, there too many for me to list. I've already talked about the Olympic successes, but I was also inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1995. I was also inducted into the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame.

Adesoji Iginla (56:24.738)
gone.

Adesoji Iginla (56:30.35)
1049.

Adesoji Iginla (56:35.191)
of it.

Aya Fubara Eneli (56:44.324)
and the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2023. I don't know what took them so long, but that's okay. There is a park that's named after me, and I also have an elementary school that is named after me as well. And the one that really tickles me is there are quite a few artists that have kind of given me shout outs in their music.

So J. Cole is one of them. Mick Jenkins is another one. And my daughter Mary is an artist. She's a singer. And she's also, in fact, that documentary she made for me about me at the end includes her singing an original song that she wrote for me. So, you know, all in all,

when I think about how I would like to be remembered.

Aya Fubara Eneli (57:51.084)
I would like to be remembered in the words of my daughter as an angel on earth. My life is not just about what I did on the field. My life is about who I was and the way I related to people. you know, all my nieces and nephews know how much I love them and would check in with them.

It was just my desire to bring light, to share love with all people and to have fun, obviously, living my life. And that's what I strove to do. I think that's what I succeeded at doing, notwithstanding my early demise. My biggest regret is I did not get to raise my daughter that...

Adesoji Iginla (58:30.658)
Hmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (58:48.228)
we only had a short seven years together. But one of the things that I did, call it premonition, I wrote letters to my daughter that she was not to get or to read till she got to a certain age. And when she got to that age, her father gave her the letters and it was actually,

Adesoji Iginla (58:50.21)
time together.

Aya Fubara Eneli (59:19.108)
part of, it was a big part of their healing, their being able to come back together. Because you know, her father, remarried. And I think, as any little girl would, that was perturbing to her, yes. But I had always told Al that when I died, because I mean, I knew I had an illness and I expected to die the way I did.

that the autopsy said I actually suffocated during an epileptic seizure. And they tested me and there were no drugs in my system. So you guys stuck with all the stories. But I'd always told Al, I loved him so much that I did not want him to spend the rest of his life just mourning me. And so I'd always told Al when I die,

Adesoji Iginla (59:52.335)
Yeah.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:00:14.926)
that I want him to remarry, want him to live his life with joy and with no guilt. And that it just took a while for Mary to come to terms with any woman being with her father other than me.

Adesoji Iginla (01:00:32.812)
Mm-hmm.

That's very touchy. Very touchy.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:00:35.972)
So all in all, I was this angel on earth. was a record-breaking athlete. I was a fashion designer. I was an artist in terms of, you know, paintings and the such. And I was a mother. I was a daughter. I was an aunt. And I was a philanthropist.

and I hope that my legacy will continue to be one that inspires little girls who look like me, all people across the globe, because we all deserve to be our best. And the world actually benefits from us being our best.

Adesoji Iginla (01:01:29.73)
Thank you, thank you, thank you. Yes, and I'm afraid to say that we've come to the end of another episode of Women and Resistance.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:01:41.572)
I was gonna put my hoodie up for you guys but my god I have so much of my hair down now so I just wouldn't do that but these are really cute and now they're like the raves you know the sleeves the cut off sleeves with the hoodie I mean these are all looks that I created so anytime you see it or you're rocking one of them just kind of know that's part of Flojo's legacy

Adesoji Iginla (01:01:43.82)
haha

Adesoji Iginla (01:01:57.453)
Mm.

Adesoji Iginla (01:02:01.784)
Just remember.

Yeah. So next week we are going to be looking at Amy Ashwood Garvey. And yeah, people might remember she was married to Marcus Garvey. And yeah, and before you ask the question, yeah, which of the which of the Amy's are we talking about? Yeah, we're going to be talking about Amy Ashwood Garvey next week. And the week after that, we'll be doing Amy

Jack Gavi. So it would be Amy's back to back. So next week is going to be the turn of Amy. He likes his Amy's. So next week we're going to be talking about Amy Ashford Gavi. And the week thereafter, it will be the turn of Amy Jack Gavi. I would like to thank

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:02:44.376)
I guess Mr. Garvey was busy. He likes his amies.

Adesoji Iginla (01:03:02.51)
Sister Flo, Joe for coming through and any last words before you do leave us?

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:03:13.742)
Just live, take up space, be who you are created to be. And you know what? The world will eventually come around.

Adesoji Iginla (01:03:22.766)
And yes, and with that powerful message, again, she did tell us earlier that we are supposed to believe, achieve, and succeed. So believe, achieve, and succeed. And on that note, it is a good night from me and until next week, have a lovely week ahead. Good night.