{"id":243,"date":"2025-09-30T20:11:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T20:11:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eportfolio.siue.edu\/tamaruis-toles\/?page_id=243"},"modified":"2025-10-10T13:52:46","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T13:52:46","slug":"multi-media-essay-1","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/eportfolio.siue.edu\/tamaruis-toles\/multi-media-essay-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Multi-media Essay 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tamaruis Toles<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Robles<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CODES 120: Research Team<\/p>\n\n\n\n

September 16th 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Silence to Captain<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cheerleading has always been more than a sport for me, to be honest I look at it like it\u2019s a system that shaped my confidence, my identity, and the way I was seen by others. But my experience was not the same everywhere. When I cheered at North Point High School, I felt invisible. I faced micro aggressions about my hair, my body, and my culture. I was never fully recognized for my potential, no matter how much effort I put in. The environment was mostly white, guided by Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) standards that valued a certain \u201clook\u201d and \u201cstyle\u201d of cheer that never included me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, when I transferred to Riverview, I stepped into a completely different system. There, I could wear ethnic hairstyles without judgment. I was encouraged to bring my full self. I even became varsity cheer captain. The contrast between these two systems exposed something much bigger than just cheer.. it revealed how race, culture, and institutional power shape opportunities, identity, and leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this essay, I\u2019ll use systems thinking to tell this story. I\u2019ll talk about the events I experienced, the patterns that kept repeating, and the structures underneath that shaped them. And by looking below the surface, like the iceberg model in Stroh\u2019s Systems Thinking for Social Change<\/em>. I\u2019ll show how racism in cheer is not just about one bad comment but about a system designed to reward certain people and exclude others.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cThe iceberg model helps reveal what\u2019s underneath individual experiences.\u201d<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

At North Point, the first thing I noticed was how my hair was always a topic of conversation. If I wore braids, it was \u201ctoo distracting.\u201d If I wore my natural curls, I was told it didn\u2019t \u201cmatch the team look.\u201d Meanwhile, white teammates could dye their hair bright colors or wear extensions, and nobody said a word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One moment stands out clearly: we had a competition, and I had practiced harder than ever before. My stunts were clean, my jumps were sharp, but when it came time to decide who was front and center, I was overlooked. A coach said, \u201cWe just want a uniform look.\u201d That phrase stuck with me, it wasn\u2019t about skill, it was about fitting a narrow image of what cheer should look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These weren\u2019t accidents. They were events shaped by the system. Each microaggression may have seemed small, but together they built an environment where I felt erased.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cNorth Point emphasized \u2018uniformity,\u2019 which often excluded individuality, especially for Black girls.\u201d<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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\u201cTwo systems, two definitions of belonging.\u201d<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Looking back, I see patterns that repeated. At North Point, leadership roles always went to white girls. They were more likely to be chosen for center spots, to be \u201cflyers,\u201d and to get recognized in pep rallies. Meanwhile, Black cheerleaders were often placed in the back or given base roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another pattern was the policing of appearance. Hairstyles, nails, even the way we spoke were judged. \u201cProfessional\u201d and \u201cclean\u201d became code words for \u201cwhite.\u201d Over time, I noticed that Black cheerleaders either quit, were pushed out, or just stayed quiet to survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By contrast, Riverview flipped the script. There, individuality was celebrated. Braids, beads, and natural hair weren\u2019t just allowed, they were seen as part of the culture. The team recognized skill over appearance, and that\u2019s why I rose to varsity captain. The pattern at Riverview was empowerment, while the pattern at North Point was suppression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Systems thinking pushes us to ask: what structures created these differences? Why was North Point so different from Riverview?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At North Point, the system was shaped by UCA\u2019s influence. UCA cheer has its roots in white Southern traditions. It values precision, uniformity, and a certain \u201caesthetic\u201d that often aligns with whiteness. The variables at play included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • Power dynamics:<\/mark><\/strong> Coaches (mostly white) decided what \u201clooked right.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Policies: <\/mark><\/strong>Strict appearance rules discouraged cultural expression.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Perceptions:<\/mark><\/strong> Cheer was seen as a performance for the school\u2019s image, not as self, expression.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    These variables reinforced each other. The more coaches pushed uniformity, the more Black cheerleaders felt excluded. Over time, that led to fewer Black leaders in the program, which then reinforced the idea that cheer was \u201cnot for us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    At Riverview, the system worked differently. The coaches reflected the community. The policy was flexibility, not control. The power dynamic was shared, students had a voice. And the perception of cheer was community pride, not just performance. That\u2019s why I could thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The deepest part of the iceberg is mental models, the beliefs people hold, often without realizing it. At North Point, the mental model was: \u201cCheer should look one way, and that way is white.\u201d Even when nobody said it outright, it showed up in decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    At Riverview, the mental model was: \u201cCheer is about skill, leadership, and pride in who you are.\u201d That belief shaped every choice coaches and teammates made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Changing mental models is the hardest part of systems change. But it\u2019s also the most powerful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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