A 19-year-old college student just made history by becoming the first black woman to play in a top-tier polo tournament. Shariah Harris plays on Cornell’s college polo team; she and her teammates got all the way to the national semifinals this year.

But on Friday, Harris was part of the Postage Stamp Farm team in the Silver Cup tournament at Greenwich Polo Club in Connecticut.

Harris’ love for riding began when her mother got lost while they were driving 12 years ago. They ended up at a farm in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, where the nonprofit program Work to Ride happened to be based. This program lets children from low-income households learn how to ride and perform in equestrian sports. Harris very quickly became a star.

Postage Stamp Farm’s Shariah Harris is the 1st African-American to play @ 20-goal level#historyinthemaking #SilverCup @GreenwichPolo pic.twitter.com/QJcanICnTu

— US Polo Association (@PoloAssociation) June 29, 2017

As her mother was a single parent with three children, this was an awesome opportunity for Harris to learn equestrian sports. But it’s not all fun and games. To take part in the program, the kids had to muck the stables, take care of the horses, and often perform other tasks like maintaining the facilities. They also needed to keep certain grades to remain qualified for the program. Harris not only became a pro on horseback, but also received a scholarship to Cornell University.

When Harris traveled to Argentina to play polo, she met Annabelle Garrett, the owner of the Postage Stamp Farm team, as well as a player. Earlier this year, Garrett injured her back and got in touch with Harris to ask her to take her spot on the four-person team for the upcoming tournament in Greenwich. About Harris, she said, “She’s absolutely a pioneer. This is a white-male-dominated sport. This is 100 percent groundbreaking. And she can ride.”

Shariah Harris of #PostageStampFarm as seen at @GreenwichPolo for the #Silver up 2017 @SuicaClaudia for @PoloHUBsocial #media #polo pic.twitter.com/cpHPXEh2ue

— ClaudiaPoloLifestyle (@SuicaClaudia) June 30, 2017

Although what Harris is doing is groundbreaking, it hasn’t come without hurdles. Polo is traditionally a male-dominated sport, and women have only recently begun to participate. In the 1950s, Sue Sally Hale played, but she pretended to be a man and wore a fake mustache to be able to participate. Hale played in a disguise for 20 years, and in 1972, women players were finally allowed. In 2000, her daughter Sunny Hale became the first woman to compete for a winning team in the US Open.

Harris said that she has met some racism in the form of inappropriate comments, whispers, and stares. But she also said, “If me playing will mean opportunities to play for other kids like me, then I’m perfectly happy to be breaking down doors. I just keep quiet, put on my boots and go out and play.”

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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This weekend the New York Times published the article “Get Home Safe,” My Rapist Said, in its opinion pages. In it, Alisson Wood tells the story of her boss raping her one night after work. She sought justice and solace from her company and the law, but only received dismissals. It was her word against her boss’s, and he claimed the situation was consensual, slut-shaming her. This situation is not uncommon for many other survivors of rape in America, victimized by a culture that often finds more fault in its victims than its perpetrators. Rape culture undermines the power imbalances at the core of rape by diverting attention away from why and how a rapist takes advantage of a person, and instead focuses on the character of the rape victim. For example, a boss takes advantage of an employee, a man takes advantage of a woman, or a cop takes advantage of a citizen. But last week, justice beat the power of rape culture. The prosecutor in the Daniel Holtzclaw case convinced a jury of the power imbalances of a white police officer raping African American women, and for Holtzclaw’s 29th birthday he received a recommended 263-year prison sentence.

Holtzclaw has been standing trial since November 2 after sexually assaulting 13 women in Oklahoma City. Jannie Ligons, a 57-year-old grandmother, went to the police after Holtzclaw attacked her on June 2,2014. Holtzclaw’s record revealed more allegations of rape, catching national attention and leading to his arrest. He faced 36 charges ranging from multiple counts of first degree rape to stalking and sexual battery. Officer Holtzclaw clearly underestimated the courage Ligons possessed as a survivor of sexual assault, and as a woman who could put trust in a police department whose own officer violated Ligons’s most basic right to her body.

Holtzclaw targeted 12 other African American women in a low income neighborhood ostensibly because of their vulnerability and unlikelihood to press charges. A couple of the victims were guilty of criminal activity of their own. The defense tried to use to this to its advantage by discrediting the victims and questioning why they did not contact the police after their assaults. But, who could those victims trust? The fact that they would likely not be perceived as “innocent victims” halted many from contacting authorities. “What kind of police do you call on the police?“–that was a question of one of the victims, who was only 17-years-old.

Race has factored into this case from the onset. Holtzclaw intended to protect himself by preying on these women with full knowledge of the future juxtaposed images of an All American Football player-turned-cop against black women. While the verdict supplies some justice to these victims, the all-white jury hardly seemed fair with about a 15 percent African American population in Oklahoma City.

Some activists see Holtzclaw’s verdict as a good milestone in a long history of black women as victims of sexual assault and domestic abuse. I agree with and welcome the justice served to this rapist. However, the lack of mainstream media attention garnered by this case validates all the fear these women had in reporting their rapes. It’s an indication of the intersectional obstacles women of color face in our lives, our problems often invisible, and rape culture even more prominent. So, it is an insult to see Holtzclaw’s tear stained face. Are those tears because he did not beat the odds? Or because white privilege did not win out and he did not get away with his exploitative assaults? As for me, I’d rather read through the brave testimonies of these 13 women in their own words than see his tears.

Dorsey Hill

Dorsey is a member of Barnard College’s class of 2016 with a major in Urban Studies and concentration in Political Science. As a native of Chicago and resident of New York City, Dorsey loves to explore the multiple cultural facets of cities. She has a deep interest in social justice issue especially those relevant to urban environments. Contact Dorsey at Staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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