Just because Serena Williams is the greatest athlete in the world doesn't mean she doesn't feel a sense of paranoia when around police officers.
On Tuesday, after being a passenger in her own car while her 18-year-old nephew was driving, Williams wrote about how she felt when she saw a police officer. In the Facebook post, Williams noted how nervous she became:
Today I asked my 18 year old nephew (to be clear he’s black) to drive me to my meetings so I can work on my phone #safteyfirst. In the distance I saw cop on the side of the road. I quickly checked to see if he was obliging by the speed limit. Than I remembered that horrible video of the woman in the car when a cop shot her boyfriend. All of this went through my mind in a matter of seconds. I even regretted not driving myself. I would never forgive myself if something happened to my nephew. He’s so innocent. So were all “the others”
I am a total believer that not “everyone” is bad It is just the ones that are ignorant, afraid, uneducated, and insensitive that is affecting millions and millions of lives.
Why did I have to think about this in 2016? Have we not gone through enough, opened so many doors, impacted billions of lives? But I realized we must stride on- for it’s not how far we have come but how much further still we have to go.
I than wondered than have I spoken up? I had to take a look at me. What about my nephews? What if I have a son and what about my daughters?
As Dr. Martin Luther King said “There comes a time when silence is betrayal”.
I
Won’t
Be
Silent
Serena
Earlier this year, shortly after her historic Wimbledon win, Williams spoke about police brutality and how she worried about young black men, like her nephew.
“I feel anyone in my color in particular is of concern,” Williams said. “I do have nephews that I’m thinking, do I have to call them and tell them, ‘Don’t go outside. If you get in your car, it might be the last time I see you’? That is something that I think is of great concern because it will be devastating. They’re very good kids.”