Making Change on the Court: Naomi Osaka Serves Mental Health Concerns

Issue 169 — June 6, 2021

As a girl, I loved tennis. I was never destined to be a Naomi Osaka, but I played regularly until I was 13 years old. Then my family moved to a small town where the only public tennis court was at the local high school. Soon after arriving in town, I went there with a girlfriend.

The court bordered on the street. A few minutes into our game, a carload of teenage boys parked in front of the court and shouted remarks about our physical appearance. We ignored the boys till they left, then packed up our racquets and went home. I never played tennis again.

The SumGloria FeldtJune 6, 2021implicit bias, Female Achievement, Mental Health, IntentionComment

Fierce Feminist: Author Linda Hirshman On History's Reckoning

Linda Hirshman credits her Cleveland junior high public school teachers for helping make her who she is. The prolific author, lawyer, retired esteemed university professor and feminist thought leader says, “I had very radical teachers in my public school and when you are 12, 13 and 14, your teachers feel like a real source of truth to you.”