Behind the Pompoms: Cheerleading’s Checkered Past (Part 2)

Who decides what a cheerleader looks like? Or sounds like? In part two of a two-part episode, ELT digs into the complicated legacy of an American archetype. Guests: Natalie Adams, cheerleading researcher and professor at the University of Alabama; Sharita Richardson, cheerleading researcher, instructional coach at North Carolina A&T State University, and founder of Black Girls Cheer. Thanks to caller Jessica for the question.  Special thanks to Vonciel Baker, one of the original seven Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and to Dee Brock, former manager of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.