by Stacy Jackson

February 3, 2023

Docuseries Featuring Fisk University’s Women Gymnasts Coming Soon

These women are flipping their way to the big screen.

Fisk University is partnering with global independent studio wiip to develop a docuseries surrounding the institution’s women’s gymnastics team.

According to a press release, the series will follow the 15-member team through its 2023 inaugural season of Intercollegiate Women’s Artistic Gymnastics at the Nashville-based HBCU.

The docuseries will reveal the challenging pressures and stereotypes the team has to endure as an all-BIPOC team.

“I am so honored to see this story brought to light in a documentary series. Following this team as it makes history and sharing the courage and fearless nature these student-athletes bring to the mat every day is inspiring to all,” coach Corrinne Tarver said.

“Fisk University has always been at the forefront of social justice and impact from W.E.B DuBois, to Diane Nash, and Nikki Giovanni. This remarkable gymnastics team continues this unique legacy by paving the way for the next generation of HBCU athletics and Black gymnasts.”

“Creating a safe and inclusive space for female athletes of color to compete and thrive was of great importance to me,” said Terricka Cromartie, who the team credits as the brainchild of the program.

Filmmaker Deborah Riley Draper and Baller Alert Films CEO Robin Lyon will executive produce the docuseries alongside Gail Lyon,  Paul Lee, Hope Hartman, and Fisk University.

“This is the most aspirational coming-of-age sports story of the year. We have not seen this before and its happening in real time. My work as a filmmaker has always and will always be about unpacking and centering stories of extraordinary Black women as they navigate the intersection of race, gender, and class. Watching this unfold in gymnastics will be a blueprint and a lesson for equity and access,” Draper said.

As previously reported by BLACK ENTERPRISE, Fisk’s gymnastics program, which consists of mostly first-year college students, became the first historically Black institution to form a gymnastics team last February.

HuffPost reported the women also became the first HBCU program to compete at the NCAA level earlier this year at the 2023 Super 16 gymnastics invitational in Las Vegas.


×