ORLANDO, Fla.---
Around the country athletes are sharing their opinions about racial injustice in America. At UCF, two women’s basketball players are making their voice heard without speaking at all.
“Mime ministry is a form of praise dancing,” UCF redshirt freshman guard Breyanna Frazier said. Mime ministry is the art form Frazier and her teammate Diamond Battles used to express themselves in a video posted to social media. A link to the video can be found below.
To be an BLACK student-athlete we must use our talents and platform to support our CULTURE & STAND for our BLACK FAMILY
I hope this touches our community around the world 🙏🏾❤️✊🏿 pic.twitter.com/xP6Gm9Af0y
— D I 💎 M O N D (@battles_diamond) June 2, 2020
“What miming does, it entered the church and people bring God’s word to life,” Frazier said. “Whether it’s a gospel song or a sermon, we are basically bringing it to life.”
The video has over 10,000 views on Battles twitter account. If you go through Frazier’s Instagram page you’ll see other mime videos. She started miming in 5th grade and performs at her church in Orlando. She has been posting regularly since the sports world shutdown due to the Coronavirus. Battles saw the posts and wanted to join.
“We sat in our study room and made up the dance in 25 minutes,” Battles remembered. “It was so empowering to us we had tears coming out of our eyes when we were finished.”
George Floyd’s death was the inspiration, but the message is bigger than just his case.
“It’s for the people getting arrested, those that are falsely accused,” Frazier said. “That somebody is going to be there to free you.
There’s no easy answer to a complex problem, but Frazier and Battles believe better days are ahead.
“As a community we have to come together,” Battles said. “Hold on to each other we are brothers and sisters no matter if we are from different parents we are all together in this.”
“We aren’t born racist I don’t believe that at all. You have to be taught it,” Frazier said. “We all have a purpose we are all here on assignment. We all have a reason so why not love. Why hate somebody else because of the color of their skin. That shouldn’t matter.”