Ohio State sophomore all-around Donovan Hewitt performs a bars routine during a meet. Credit: Christian Harsa | Asst. Photo Editor
When a 17-year-old Donovan Hewitt looked at the other gymnasts who placed in the top 10 of his age group at nationals, he realized he was different — but in a good way.
“Once we got out of the general area, I started to realize, ‘Oh, Black people don’t do this sport,’ and I started to realize I was different than everybody else that was winning and placing and stuff,” Hewitt said. “It’s not like I felt something bad was happening, but I just wanted to make sure that I was representing the community well.”
From a Burtonsville, Maryland, community that is nearly 49 percent Black, Hewitt, a sophomore gymnast at Ohio State, said his immersion into a sport dominated by white athletes was a deviation from his norm. Now more than 390 miles from his hometown, Hewitt navigates his expectations as a Black student-athlete while using his platform to invoke change.
Before raising his voice for others, however, Hewitt had to adjust to life in Columbus. Hewitt said new experiences brought about by the transition to college made his first semester a bit of a culture shock.
Leaning on the help of a few individuals, Hewitt said he was able to be himself and express what he was going through.
“[As a student-athlete] I have this outward obligation to be this positive mentor towards the children and not do this, not do this because I represent Ohio State,” Hewitt said. “There was only like one or two people who really knew how I was feeling and I tried to keep it like that just so I could stay sane in talking to that person and talking to the other person. But once I left that room, I had to put on like a mask, I guess.”
A political science major with a specialization in inequality and justice, Hewitt said his focus was already set on helping others, but the racial equality movements over the summer inspired him to use his platform as a student-athlete.
A member of Redefining Athletic Standards — an Ohio State student-organization which strives to support and give Black male student-athletes a voice — Hewitt said he reached out to others in order to check in with them and see how they were doing.
Balancing athletics, academics and proactive efforts, Hewitt said the experience can be exhausting.
“It is a little overwhelming, just because my 110 percent focus has to be and in like five different places all at one time on one day, and then at six places on the next day,” Hewitt said. “So it is a little bit much. But I mean, it’s got to be done. Like, it has to change.”
Referencing when former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick knelt for the national anthem without the support of the NFL, Hewitt said he would have been afraid to stand out without support.
However, Hewitt said the presence of athletic director Gene Smith — who has voiced his support for student-athletes using their voices — has increased his comfortability.
With the return of the collegiate gymnastics season and Hewitt’s competition slate, his busy journey through college continues forward.
Striving for athletic and academic achievements, Hewitt said he hopes his efforts for racial equality can impact the lives of those who see it.
“I want to educate people on what’s right,” Hewitt said. “If all my posts and all my leadership opportunities that I’m in does anything for anybody, I want somebody to read it and say, ‘I’m changing my opinions on what’s going on because that is not OK.’ I want what I say and what I put on Instagram to make people think about how they previously viewed the Black experience.”
View more stories from The Lantern’s Black Voices project here.
