BHS Day 9: Renee Powell

Hi! For our second Sports Spotlight we're switching categories. I try to feature different sports, including the ones I don't follow (which is quite long tbh lol, meaning there are a lot of accolades and pioneers I don't know), and that brings me to today's entrant. I don't follow golf, never have. But regardless of the sport, I love featuring women who broke through the ceiling and were able to make an impact. Today's entrant is a second-generation golfer (keep that in mind), and she made an impact that I'd like to think kept the doors open for women in golf today. More importantly, she is the rare entrant, who, at the time of this posting, is still alive, making moves and adding onto her legacy. Per usual, I left a lot of her accomplishments off today's list so please check the further reading links. Let's get into it!

Source

Name: Renee Powell, 1946-

Profession: Golfer, international Goodwill ambassador, teacher

Why is the Spotlight on her today? For her accomplishments in golf as both an African-American and a woman

Notables:

--Was the first woman to compete in a men's golfing tournament when she joined a British PGA's men's tournament 

--As a youth amateur, won over 30 championships, 50+ trophies, and had become a multi-time winner of several tournaments

--Was the first African-American to enter the US Girls Junior tournament

--Captained the women's golf team at two universities, making her the first African-American to do so

--Was among a group of the first 7 women (and one of the only 2 American women) to be granted honorary membership to the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews in Scotland, ending a centuries long gender exclusion and the culmination of the racism and exclusion she faced throughout her career

--Is the co-owner and head professional at her family's golfing club, Clearview Golf Club, a longtime prominent fixture in the golfing world

--Was one of the first women golfers to have developed her own clothing line, which she debuted at Harrods in London

--Was the second African-American to compete in the LPGA Tour, after Althea Gibson

--Faced racism throughout her amateur and professional career, from not being allowed to play in her state's golfing tournament to being turned away from tournament-affiliated hotels while competing to being refused seating at restaurants and even receiving death threats on tour, partially prompting the LGPA to become an integrated tour

--Was awarded two honorary doctorate's degrees, one from the University of St. Andrews, and another from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore

--Traveled to different countries as a Goodwill ambassador, hosting golf clinics for children, veterans and the underprivileged, which helped result in a USO Tour in the '70s where she met troops currently serving in the Vietnam War

--Competed in over 250 professional golfing events with the LPGA

--Created the first golfing program for female veterans called Clearview HOPE, which serves as a form of recreational therapy for them

--Won an award for being one of Black Enterprise's Women of Power

--Was awarded with a spot on Golf Digest's list of 50 Best Women Teachers for her work after retiring

--Was honored with having a residence hall at the University of St. Andrews named after her

--Was inducted into the PGA America Hall of Fame in 2017

--Was inducted into the Ohio Hall of Fame

--Serves (or served) on the board of directors for several sports-related organizations, including the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Northern Ohio PGA and Women's Golf Journal

--As of 2019, serves as the first at-large member on PGA America's director's board

--Was awarded the Jack Nicklaus Golf Family Award alongside the rest of her family for their contribution, hard work and skills in golf

--Was awarded PGA's First Lady of Golf award in 2003

Further reading and resources:

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Quote of the Day:

"I had to work two times harder to get those who were higher-ranking than me to understand that I'm good enough to be there."

-Renee Powell

Today's organization: Color of Change

What does the organization provide? Advocacy and a reliable voice in the fight for racial justice. Color of Change has a multi-tiered action plan to empower the Black community and equal out the laws of society. There are six focuses of the organization, each with their own set of detailed action steps. Their goal is to end racism by tackling it from several areas at once--criminal justice, culture change, voting freedom, tech justice, attacking right-wing politics, and economic justice. They help with providing Black actors with jobs in an effort to ensure media diversity, mobilizing Black communities across the nation to push local candidates to end mass incarceration, exposing the racial inaccuracies in the media, helping people challenge the injustices they face in their communities, and helping empower and protect Black voters.

Donate | Membership | Shop

See you tomorrow!