By Daily Sports on September 29, 2016
Serena Williams vowed she would not be “silent” on issues of social injustice Tuesday as she reflected on the recent deaths of African-American men at the hands of law enforcement.
In a heartfelt post on her Facebook page, the tennis superstar said she felt moved to speak out after being unnerved at the sight of a police officer while being driven by her 18-year-old nephew.
“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,” the former world number-one wrote.
“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’,” Williams added.
The United States has been gripped by a spike in racial tensions in the past week after the latest killings of black men by police.
The deaths, in Oklahoma and North Carolina, were the latest in a series of incidents over the past two years that have brought issues of police brutality and racism to the forefront of national debate.
Williams said her reaction had left her determined to speak out.
“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,” she wrote.
“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.” (NAN)
Serena Williams
Source Daily Sports
Posted September 29, 2016
You may also like...
Ronaldo wins Supercoppa for Juventus
Ferdinand Recalls Rejecting Barcelona Move
How my father stopped me from being a...
Adeyemi: I Can’t Compare Myself With Haaland
NFF retains Danjuma as Falconets coach
Chelsea edge Palmeiras 2–1 to advance to Club...

Falcons ready to die on pitch – Ajibade
Commonwealth Games: Tinubu lauds Team Nigeria’s 24-medal feat, pledges more investment in sports
Falcons learnt from Malawi defeat, says Alozie
We will make Nigerians proud – Nnadozie
Celebrating Kanu Nwankwo: A True Nigerian Football Legend
Okowa hails Amusan, Enekwechi after Glasgow medals
Portable loses celebrity boxing rematch to Okocha after ring walkout
Commonwealth Games: Australia widens lead as Nigeria stays fifth on medal table
Commonwealth Games: Nigeria ranks ninth on all-time medals table
Ex-Milan legend Baresi dies at 66
Morocco edge Algeria to book WAFCON quarter-final spot
Asian football confederation joins UEFA, CONCACAF in opposing FIFA investment plan
Rangers International going, going . . . (64,002 views)
Amaju Pinnick: A cat with nine lives (55,353 views)
Second Term: Amaju Pinnick, Other NFF Heavyweights Home to Roost •How Pinnick Broke the Jinx (53,248 views)
Current issues in Nigerian sports: Matters arising (52,850 views)
Sports Development: Zenith Bank on the zenith (52,731 views)
Missing $150,000 IAAF Grant: Solomon Dalung’s Hide and Seek game (52,602 views)
Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje’s solid footprints, commitment to sports development in Kano State (52,495 views)
NFF Presidency: Pinnick, Maigari, Ogunjobi, Okoye in Battle for Supremacy (52,006 views)
Olopade, BET9A wave of revolution in NNL (51,224 views)
Commonwealth Games 2018: Shame of Muhammadu Buhari, Solomon Dalung (49,694 views)
Ibrahimovic’s Man U exit: Whose decision is it? And in whose interest? (48,176 views)
John Mikel Obi: Segun Odegbami’s Outrageous Call! (47,560 views)