What Black Girls Can Learn From HBO's "Being Serena" (Spoilers)
What Black Girls Can Learn From HBO’s “Being Serena” (Spoilers)
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Serena Williams was recently asked about the pressure she faces as the “one to beat” in every tournament she enters.
“I always play everyone at their greatest, so I have to be greater. That’s what makes me great.”
Whether she’s coming back from pregnancy or injury, she says “it doesn’t matter, these young ladies, they bring a game that I’ve never seen before. It’s interesting because I don’t even scout as much. Because when I watch them play, it’s a totally different game than when they play me.”
Serena has embodied greatness for almost two decades, and her HBO video diary Being Serena, reveals how she’s been able to maintain for so long.
Keep clicking to revisit Serena’s most memorable moments and read Ezinne Ukoha‘s thoughts on what Black girls can learn from her incredible example.
Read Ezinne’s full essay here.
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She’s literally the greatest athlete alive.
She’s the Black woman who grew up in Compton, California, with her equally talented older sister Venus, and under the management and nurturing of their father Richard Williams, she impeccably mastered the art form of an elite sport.
Read Ezinne’s full essay here.
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As I made my way into the personal diary of Serena Williams, I discovered that it’s a broader and vivid portrait of a career woman who still has to deal with the challenges that are assigned to her station.
The Williams Sisters are Black women who look Black.
Their features aren’t carved from exoticness of mixtures that provide the preferred default for all the other global establishments. And there’s no doubt that if they had the security of refinement, without the ethnic qualities, the shameful treatment that has greeted them at every turn would be non-existent.
Read Ezinne’s full essay here.
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In order to be a viable contender in entertainment or the fashion and beauty industry — you have to boast an aesthetic that doesn’t deviate too far from the colonial blueprint of desirability.
That’s why it’s hard to come up with at least five names of young Black actresses under the age of thirty— who are enjoying the ingenue phase that White actresses so easily claim. That’s why almost all the young up and coming female musicians of color, are either biracial or light-skinned Blacks. That’s why the fashion world is populated with White faces — with the only Black face belonging to the iconic Naomi Campbell, and without her legendary status — there would be no alternative.
Read Ezinne’s full essay here.
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As we watch Serena Williams indulging in motherhood after the life-threatening birth of Alexis Olympia Ohanian, the daughter she shares with hubby and Reddit co-founder, Alexis Ohanian, we see the softer side of a woman that the media consistently tries to demonize.
Read Ezinne’s full essay here.
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All through their illustrious careers, Serena and Venus have endured the brutal climate of overt racism in ways that should have crippled them, but somehow they resolved to rise above the insults — with dignity and enviable grace.
The worst was the infamous outing at the Indian Wells tournament back in 2001— when the sisters were subjected to a disgusting combination of boos followed by peppering of the n-word, with the the topping of threats to their father’s life. This prompted Serena and Venus into a 14-year boycott, which ended when they returned to the tournament to play against each other in early 2018.
Read Ezinne’s full essay here.
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My adulation for Serena Williams goes beyond her numerous titles and is more rooted in her ability to keep coming back for more — even when the stakes are higher, and the reception to her mightiness is met with symbols of why Black women are relentlessly tested beyond our capacity.
Despite the subtle and not so subtle jabs that are meant to rattle her into playing the role of the “angry Black woman” or worse, Williams manages to remain stoically coherent and dignified, and this stems from years of mental discipline, and the pure love for the game that she’s sacrificed so much to dominate.
It’s the ultimate lesson for young dark-skinned Black girls — who dare to dream the impossible — and almost give up from the discouragement of not having enough examples of success stories — amassed from mentors that resemble their template.
Read Ezinne’s full essay here.
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The journey to greatness is hard and it doesn’t get any easier even after proving your unmatched genius — but the key is to be charismatically defiant in your pursuits. When giving up isn’t an option and only the vision of victory will do — there’s basically nothing that can derail the pure destiny of a little girl from Compton, as she prepares to hold the world hostage with her dopeness.
They say the darker we are, the more challenging it is to get to the top — and while that is true — there’s also the proof in the Black girl who fought to have it all — and now as a Black woman who surpassed her expectations — the fight continues.
And that’s the most enduring lesson of all for the Black girls struggling to find a spot in the landscape of Whiteness and lightness.
Never stop fighting.
Read Ezinne’s full essay here.
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At the end of Being Serena — we are left with the visual of a Black woman who has achieved more than most will in their lifetime — and yet the hunger for more is even greater — especially now that she has a daughter to make proud.
What Black Girls Can Learn From HBO’s “Being Serena” (Spoilers) was originally published on globalgrind.com
