NFL
By: Zach Draves
If anyone knows the pain and anguish that Meghan Markle has had to endure as a black woman in a powerful position it is her good friend Serena Williams.
The Oprah interview featuring the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry revealed plenty about the British monarchy particularly when it comes to racism.
Given the history of the British monarchy, it should come as no surprise.
Serena immediately defended her friend and rightfully so and they share a common bond that goes well beyond their companionship.
Both women refused to conform to institutional power structures rooted in racism and elitism.
After all, tennis and the royal family are inextricably linked.
The history of Wimbledon is pervasive with the presence of the Royals in the luxury boxes watching other white elites play amongst themselves while flourishing off the backs of the poor and disenfranchised.
When Serena and Venus appeared on the scene in the mid-1990’s they rocked the establishment to the core.
Two black women from South Central Los Angeles in colorful outfits and those iconic beads in their hair played as their authentic selves and brought in a new audience to a sport that had been systematically castigated.
Ever since they not only transcended and transformed the sport but weren’t the least bit shy of speaking truth to power when it came to those intersections of race and gender otherwise known as misogynoir.
Serena’s advocacy speaks for itself when it comes to better maternal care for black mothers, her and Venus’s shared commitment to equal pay, and their unwavering support for Black Lives Matter.
Along the way, both had to endure vicious attacks from the press, commentators, and spectators that are clearly racialized.
They are too many to count.
After the 2018 U.S. Open when Serena was unfairly ambushed by an umpire over false allegations of cheating spurred some of the most horrific attacks she has ever endured for defending herself.
Serena stood her ground that day in Flushing Meadows and spoke for black women who have been made out to be dismissed, disrespected, and degraded.
The same argument can be made about how Meghan has been treated given that she continuously holds her on while being met with efforts to destroy her character.
There is much to take away from the Oprah interview but one should be that misogynoir is a deeply entrenched system that has largely been left out of our public discourse around race and gender.
Serena Williams and Meghan Markle, as powerful and influential as they are, have not been able to escape theirSe grasp.
But their actions and continuous truth-telling are part of a larger effort to dismantle this system.
The ball is in our court now.
