Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Add Reply
The Meaning of Serena Williams
Topic Started: Aug 26 2015, 10:57 AM (230 Views)
Moon Pie
Member Avatar

This is a long article, worth reading though. I'm not posting the whole thing. I admire her, she's such a strong, beautiful, successful black woman! What I love most about her is she refuses to allow anyone to change her! :wub: :wub:


The Meaning of Serena Williams, On tennis and black excellence.
By CLAUDIA RANKINEAUG. 25, 2015

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/30/magazine/the-meaning-of-serena-williams.html?action=click&contentCollection=Food&module=MostPopularFB&version=Full&region=Marginalia&src=me&pgtype=article

Quote:
 
There is no more exuberant winner than Serena Williams. She leaps into the air, she laughs, she grins, she pumps her fist, she points her index finger to the sky, signaling she’s No. 1. Her joy is palpable. It brings me to my feet, and I grin right back at her, as if I’ve won something, too. Perhaps I have.

There is a belief among some African-Americans that to defeat racism, they have to work harder, be smarter, be better. Only after they give 150 percent will white Americans recognize black excellence for what it is. But of course, once recognized, black excellence is then supposed to perform with good manners and forgiveness in the face of any racist slights or attacks. Black excellence is not supposed to be emotional as it pulls itself together to win after questionable calls. And in winning, it’s not supposed to swagger, to leap and pump its fist, to state boldly, in the words of Kanye West, ‘‘That’s what it is, black excellence, baby.’’


Quote:
 
The word ‘‘win’’ finds its roots in both joy and grace. Serena’s grace comes because she won’t be forced into stillness; she won’t accept those racist projections onto her body without speaking back; she won’t go gently into the white light of victory. Her excellence doesn’t mask the struggle it takes to achieve each win.




Quote:
 
I asked how winning felt for her. I was imagining winning as a free space, one where the unconscious racist shenanigans of umpires, or the narratives about her body, her ‘‘unnatural’’ power, her perceived crassness no longer mattered. Unless racism destroyed the moment of winning so completely, as it did at Indian Wells, I thought it had to be the rare space free of all the stresses of black life. But Serena made it clear that she doesn’t desire to dissociate from her history and her culture. She understands that even when she’s focused only on winning, she is still representing. ‘‘I play for me,’’ Serena told me, ‘‘but I also play and represent something much greater than me. I embrace that. I love that. I want that. So ultimately, when I am out there on the court, I am playing for me.’’


Quote:
 
‘‘But I’m always going to be myself. If anything happens, I’m always going to be myself, true to myself.’’


Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Doctor Magnus Warlock
Member Avatar

Serena is a true icon.

Her will to win is extraordinary.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Moon Pie
Member Avatar

In the US Open she's going up against Vitalia Diatchenko, a 25-year-old from Sochi, Russia.

Of course, I'm cheering for Serena!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/31/sports/tennis/lonely-feeling-for-86th-ranked-tennis-player-selected-to-face-serena-williams.html?hp&WT.nav=top-news&module=CloseSlideshow&region=SlideShowTopBar&version=SlideCard-1&action=click&contentCollection=Fashion%20%26%20Style&pgtype=imageslideshow
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
VoiceofReason

I didn't post here?

I loved the article. Thanks for posting it, sugar cube! :P

(Ok, ok! I'll stop.)
Edited by VoiceofReason, Sep 1 2015, 01:35 AM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Moon Pie
Member Avatar

VoiceofReason
Sep 1 2015, 01:34 AM
I didn't post here?

I loved the article. Thanks for posting it, sugar cube! :P

(Ok, ok! I'll stop.)
:wub: :wub: :wub:

Sugar Cube now that's cute!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · Entertainment · Next Topic »
Add Reply