A stunning and beautiful Ms. Williams at the Wimbledon Champions’ Dinner
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| Serena Williams ~ 'Queen of the Court' |
When I think of the challenges and despicable things said and done toward Serena and her sister, Venus beginning with their debut on the tennis scene years ago and currently; my admiration and respect continues to soar. Serena winning her 6th championship and 21st grand slam at Wimbledon {7/11/15} was too much for those in media to bear especially one of the writers of a New York Times article.
Body shaming and the attempt to minimized her achievements by focusing on what he viewed as the drawbacks of her 'being' with a comparison to her slender Caucasian opponent were revealing. The anecdotal assessments by the haters/fans in the tennis world became a lively topic of concern in social media. Folks of color and goodwill are fed up with the jealousy and racist insinuations of those who can't accept African-American women excelling in a sport they'd prefer white women to dominate. Brittney Cooper, professor and writer for The Salon wrote an in-depth and thought provoking piece, 'The world only has ugliness for black women. That's why Serena Williams is so important.'
Two of my favorite poems by Lucille Clifton, 'Won't You Celebrate With Me' and Maya Angelou's 'Still I Rise' come to mind about black women in general who strive to meet their goals and are formidable in their quest to do so.
As Ms. Clifton cites at the end of 'Won't You Celebrate With Me':
Body shaming and the attempt to minimized her achievements by focusing on what he viewed as the drawbacks of her 'being' with a comparison to her slender Caucasian opponent were revealing. The anecdotal assessments by the haters/fans in the tennis world became a lively topic of concern in social media. Folks of color and goodwill are fed up with the jealousy and racist insinuations of those who can't accept African-American women excelling in a sport they'd prefer white women to dominate. Brittney Cooper, professor and writer for The Salon wrote an in-depth and thought provoking piece, 'The world only has ugliness for black women. That's why Serena Williams is so important.'
Two of my favorite poems by Lucille Clifton, 'Won't You Celebrate With Me' and Maya Angelou's 'Still I Rise' come to mind about black women in general who strive to meet their goals and are formidable in their quest to do so.
As Ms. Clifton cites at the end of 'Won't You Celebrate With Me':
come celebrate with me that everyday something has tried to kill me and has failed.
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| Image: Public Domain |
