Serena Williams is one of the most prominent athletes on earth. She’s on a short list of athletes who, when they say something, it makes an impact on a lot of people. Additionally, Williams is an athlete who has been an outspoken supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement and an advocate for equality and social justice for years. So when Williams speaks from experience about things like inequality, it really, really matters.
On Tuesday, Williams posted a letter on Facebook discussing her commitment to speaking up in the face of inequality that she faces as an African-American woman. She made this statement after telling a story about getting a car ride from her nephew and the fear that consumed her over what would happen if he was pulled over by the police.
[protected-iframe id=”9f81e4818457e98146188b47e0a1ea33-60970621-76566046″ info=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FSerenaWilliams%2Fposts%2F10154607381941834&width=500″ width=”500″ height=”256″ frameborder=”0″ style=”border: none; overflow: hidden;” scrolling=”no”]
It’s a story that we’ve heard from a number of members of the African-American community for years, one that involves being consumed by fear when they see a police officer due to the deaths of numerous black people at the hands of the police. Plenty of athletes, most notably Niners quarterback Colin Kaepernick, have tried their best to raise awareness of this issue. Few, if any, have the platform of Williams, though, and it sounds like she plans on being a champion for this cause.
