10.3 Seconds
Antoinette Winstead
March 21, 2021
Jesse Owens’s 100m victory at the 1936 Olympics on
August 3, 1936 in Berlin, Germany
Channeling his energy,
we move in sync —
me, the white spikes
on the black feet
of a descendent of slavery.
We glide past the others,
pumping effortlessly,
nothing before us
but the finish line and glory.
In 10.3 seconds,
together we make history,
putting to rest forever —
the myth of Aryan superiority,
as the perpetrator of the lie
looks on in ignominy
while we lap the stadium
of 100,000 who cheer unabashedly
a black, gold-winning Olympian.
Antoinette F. Winstead, a poet, playwright, director, and actor, teaches film and theater courses at Our Lady of the Lake University where she serves as the Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Program Head for the Mass Communication and Drama programs. Her poetry has been published in TejasCovido, Langdon Review of the Arts in Texas, Voice de la Luna, Jerry Jazz Musician, and The Woman Inc.
