“This Just Scratches Surfaces” – Venus Williams Breaks Silence On Racism

Published 06/09/2020, 12:36 PM EDT

After facing some backlash on Instagram, Venus Williams has finally delivered a powerful message against racism in the USA. She decided to shed light on a variety of issues that infest the nation.

Notably, Venus had faced a lot of flak from the fans for promoting a product on Instagram while the country remained deeply divided. Many of her African-American fans didn’t like the fact that she was quiet even days after the unfortunate demise of George Floyd. They wanted her to use her voice as an icon of the community.

Finally, Venus has broken her silence in the best way possible. She wrote a lengthy message explaining what it means for her as an African-American to see the country coming together against racism. It’s certainly one of the best things you will read today.

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What did Venus Williams say?

Venus Williams decided to deliver a simple message. She started out by explaining how the experience of being an African-American in the USA was something that couldn’t be expressed.

The fear and the insecurity was a very personal experience for her. In addition, she compared the situation to her long-drawn fight against the gender pay gap in tennis. Even then, what helped achieve the reform was solidarity across the board.

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I am deeply saddened that it has taken multiple acts of police brutality to make people painfully aware of the racism that still pervades America. It shouldn’t. This just scratches the surface of the hideous face of racism in America. Take a moment to imagine this: If police brutality can exist and be tolerated so many years at this scale, imagine the other insidious acts of racism that permeate our country: In the workplace. In the justice system. In the healthcare system. In the education system. … Speaking up about racism in the past was unpopular. It was shunned. No one believed you. Until you have walked in these shoes, as an African American, it is impossible to understand the challenges you face in the country, in this world. What it is like to be unheard, thought of foolish, silly or reckless to believe that racism still exists at every level. This is no longer falling on deaf ears. I’m amazed at the solidarity that has erupted across the USA. It has brought me to tears. In the past, I had the honor of fighting for equal prize money for all women’s players at the grand slams in tennis. To make this even more simple to understand, just as sexism is not only a "women's issue," racism is not only a "black issue." When we fought for and won equal prize money, everyone pitched in, men and women, all colors all races. And we won. When the majority groups stay quiet, when they sit in the chair of disbelief, they unwittingly condone the oppression of marginalized groups. Those with power and privilege actually have an easier time getting heard. They must CONTINUALLY exercise that privilege! We MUST win! We cannot let systematic racism persist. We have to love one another. Help one another. Listen to one another, believe one another, even if we don’t understand or will never walk in our neighbor’s shoes. Keep speaking out. Speak out today, tomorrow, next month, next year, each and every day until all is equal for African Americans. I am so happy, so relieved, as an African American, to finally be heard. I pray for those who have lost their lives and for their families so America could finally wake up and act. #blacklivesmatter
A post shared by Venus Williams (@venuswilliams) on Jun 8, 2020 at 5:03pm PDT

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In a similar manner, the current situation required all races to come together and achieve the desired result. She further added that the death of George Floyd wasn’t the first nor the last atrocity caused due to racism. In addition, there were multiple subtle influences of racism that ravage the nation.

These are the ones that don’t even get the spotlight. There needs to be more conversation about these cases as well in the public sphere. A responsible citizenry will not let such a problem exist in the great country.

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Aryan Sharma is a WWE and Tennis author and editor at EssentiallySports. Being a journalism graduate from Delhi University, he combines his love for creating content with an astute knowledge of almost three eras of professional wrestling. He's also a Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova fan and likes to write on the social impact of these two legends beyond their achievements on the tennis court.