Monica Harrison is the Carnegie Mellon University Head Softball Coach and NCAA Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Designee. She was named the program’s inaugural head coach in 2017 and the team began play in the spring of 2019. She earned her bachelor’s degree in economics with a concentration in sociology, and minors in legal studies and African-American studies from Bucknell University, where she was a four-year letter-winner, earning National Fastpitch Association and Patriot League all-academic honors. She recently penned a story for the NFCA Fastpitch Delivery.

The UAA “Conversations About Race and Racism” series seeks to lift the voices of people of color and recognize the challenges faced in both athletics and academics at the collegiate level. By sharing personal stories, we hope to elevate the conversation about race to raise awareness and bring about change.

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Over the past few months with all that is going on in our nation, Harrison has reflected on her experiences to try to understand how we got where we are today. In order for her to be able to articulate a response to her team, her family, and her young children, she first had to come to terms with her own experiences and how she has dealt with things in the past and what needs to be done in the future to bring about change. She has concluded that all actions — small and large — have lead us to this inflection points and all experiences must be discussed to promote growth towards a better future.

Harrison has consistently dealt with misconceptions and microaggressions that exist in everyday conversations and are often overlooked. A few of the most common ones she hears:

• Can you dance?
• Can I touch your hair?
• You don’t sound black
• I’m darker than you or you’re an Oreo (black on the outside white on the inside)
• You are so aggressive/too loud
• Wow, you’re very articulate
• You play softball?!

“I could spend hours explaining the deep-rooted cultural biases that exists in everyday sayings and colloquial statements. These microaggressions are thrown around every day. For a long time, I have felt that I had to gracefully endure these silent attacks to pave the way for the next generation so it wouldn’t be too hard for them to get to the next level. I have learned that my theory couldn’t be further from the truth. By silently enduring these microaggressions, I have been allowing these sayings to become part of everyday common interactions.

People have commented that I am an unabashed confident woman who is comfortable in her own skin. It wasn’t until I birthed my child, a young black girl, that I started down the journey of accepting my blackness and accepting my best self, feeling confident in bringing my authentic self every day. The journey isn’t complete.

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I have many more stories of discrimination, microaggressions, and unconscious bias that I have faced in my lifetime from my own coach, my colleagues, my bosses, and others. Even being a black head coach at such a prestigious institution as Carnegie Mellon, I am still overlooked by travel ball coaches — they won’t acknowledge me at tournaments and pass me by when handing out flyers on their teams to all of the college coaches at the fields.”

Her First Day of College

“In my freshman year in college, on the first day of class, a professor told me that I had to prove to him and my classmates that I deserved to be there. Little did he know, I didn’t check the race box on my college application. It was optional. I did, however write my college essay on having to work twice as hard to get what I deserve because of the color of my skin. Unfortunately, my interaction with that professor was manifest destiny.”

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Advice for Other Non-White Coaches and Those Who Want to Coach

“Do it and be unabashed. Representation matters and we need more representation in the coaching ranks to bring about better awareness and overall changes to the student-athlete experience. As you enter the field, develop your why and let that guide your actions. Build your network of coaching friends, mentors, and sponsors (there’s a difference between a mentor and a sponsor). Lastly, never stop learning. Learn from your experiences, learn from your interactions, learn from your players, and continue to learn your craft — the game.”

Harrison believes there are ways that both allies and coaches can help bring about system change.

Allies

“To bring about systemic change, allies have to help the black community gain access, exposure, and influence through the three economic levers of change:

1. Education — Help with reform to equally fund school districts, not by property taxes, but through EQUAL funding initiatives. Help by developing free mentoring programs from college campuses that partner with local school districts where a majority of kids are on free or reduced lunches.
2. Ownership — Provide small business mentoring to Black-owned community businesses. Help with grant writing for local non-profits. Help get funding for black farmers. Continue to crack down on banks who offer predatory lending to minority home owners. Stop high-end redevelopment of cultural cities/towns that displace disproportionate amounts of black communities without producing affordable housing for previous tenants/community residents.
3. Generational Wealth — Lower the barriers of entry/cost of living for underserved communities so wealth isn’t eaten up in necessary day-to-day expenses, but rather can be used to help build generational wealth (e.g. higher minimum wage, free daycare, reduced/free college tuition, etc.)”

Coaches

“I would challenge coaches to think about how they are preparing student-athletes for these tough encounters in life. If we say we are teaching life through our sport, it is our job to prepare them for all aspects of life —good, bad, and ugly. While many of our student-athletes may not encounter these issues directly, they will be a part of the experience in some way.

How are we fostering our culture and environments to support growth of upstanders — a person who speaks or acts in support of an individual or cause, particularly someone who intervenes on behalf of a person being attacked or bulled. We want to encourage our student-athletes to be an upstander, not a bystander, for marginalized communities.

How can we accomplish this?

•     We have to have uncomfortable conversations with our players. Ask them if they have been in a situation where they have heard things being said. Ask them how they feel about how Black people are represented in film and media. Ask them if they see a difference in reporting when referencing Black people vs. White people.
  
•     We have to understand and acknowledge the issues Black students face on campuses of predominantly white institutions (PWIs).
  
•     If we are going to attempt to attract diverse student-athletes, we have to be able to tackle the tough conversations about race and experiences on our campuses.
  
•     We must be prepared to talk to recruits’ parents about how we can foster and support the unique nuances of their child’s college experience because there is an added level of discovery in our college experience. The Black student-athlete is looking for a comprehensive affirming experience on our campus, not just a robust athletic and academic experience.”

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Student-Athletes and the “Power of Team”

“This generation of student-athletes will be the ones who lead and make change happen. Throughout history, there have been athletes who have modeled the way when it comes to social reform (i.e. Muhammad Ali, John Carlos, Tommie Smith, Colin Kaepernick, LeBron James). Because of technology, current student-athletes are able to readily arm themselves with knowledge and are getting information overload by the minute. We need to empower them to share their lived experiences, calls to action, and action plans. Create spaces for them to engage in conversation about what have they listened to, read or heard that was interesting. They are educating themselves and are forming opinions. Open the line of conversation by asking to share their perspective.

They are truly using their platform to draw a line in the sand and take a stand. Remember… the best thing we can do as coaches right now is to empower this generation’s student-athletes. They are the ones who will make the change!”

Carnegie Mellon Softball Video

“As I try to live my values, I seek to continually empower my players, I will utilize all of my resources to amplify their voice when they decide to act. When you have some time, please view the Social Impact Message crafted, recorded, and edited by my players. It has been posted to all of our social media accounts if you want to share more broadly.”

CMU Softball Social Impact Message Video