Serena Williams (Instagram)
Serena Williams “won’t be silent” about Black men and police brutality. The tennis pro said as much on Facebook Tuesday concerning a possible run-in with a cop and her nephew.
Williams explained she asked her 18-year-old family member to drive her to meetings so she could take care of business on her phone. As they drove, she saw an officer on the side of the road.
“I quickly checked to see if [my nephew] was obliging by the speed limit. [Then] I remembered that horrible video of the woman in the car when a cop shot her boyfriend,” Williams wrote referring to Philando Castile’s death by police. “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.’ ”
After expressing concern over her nephew’s safety, Williams wondered why she didn’t speak up. Then, she engaged in self-reflection.
“What about my nephews?” she asked. “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,” the athlete concluded.
Fans applauded Williams for sharing her concerns.
Nigerian native Johnpaul Onoja, who has a brother in the United States, said he stands with the 22-time Grand Slam winner.
Lorine Magdalene could identify with Williams’ fears.
Once Magdalene’s teenage daughter got her license, the mother shared it “broke my heart and scared me…to teach her how to be Black behind the wheel.”
André Thomas thanked Williams for sharing her story, saying her opinion “is needed.”
Additionally, Tashah Chidziya, who is from Zimbabwe, gave African-Americans her support.
And Jaya Hardeman appreciated Williams standing up for injustice.
Williams’ message comes after two of the most recently publicized police killings of Black men.
In separate incidents of police brutality earlier this month, officers murdered Terence Crutcher and Keith Scott.
Read Williams’ complete post below.
