Serena Williams Role Model

She has risen from a poor background and was ranked the richest African American of the 20th Century, the greatest black philanthropist in American history and was once the world’s only black billionaire. She is also known as the most influential woman in the world, both older generations and young.

Black excellence; a term that is possibly defined as the recognition and celebration of the successes of the black community. Lacking from the definition is the idea that black excellence cannot be achieved without understanding its relation to apparent racist perpetrations. In the essay entitled “The Meaning of Serena Williams”, author Claudia Rankine states, “the notable difference between black excellence and white excellence is white excellence is achieved without having to battle racism. Imagine.” The prevalent absurdity exuded by this statement is the unfortunate reality we now inhabit.

People pretend it doesn’t exist, but racism is still here and much alive.  Tennis prides itself on being innovators. That’s why tennis awards equal prize money, television and media coverage to both male and female tennis players. The fact remains that tennis wouldn’t be true innovators until it stops racism. Serena and Venus William’s two African American sisters began tennis when they were young and soon started having massive success. The success the two sisters had brought inspiration and influenced other young African Americans to join the game.

Althea has seen prejudice and discrimination in the entirety of her lifetime despite the many titles and awards she was given. Her life began with the Great Migration and lasted till the Civil Rights Movement. Even though people were prejudice and discriminated against her, she overcame those obstacles. Althea will be remembered as one of the best in tennis for her outstanding performance.

One of the most successful tennis players in the history of sports, Serena Williams, is known for her undeniable dedication and ability to burn the candle at both ends. Serena is the worldwide sensation who won several Olympic Gold medals and many other awards. In the previous post, we've listed the first part of 25 facts about Serena Williams. This post is the second part.

Winning the Girls 14s National Tennis Championships gave Natalia Kochkodan the chance to make a difference in the world and she jumped right onto that opportunity. In the 18 years that she has lived since the win, she has created a non for profit organization that assists disease stricken children in playing sports, has donated over 10 million dollars to several children’s charities including Ball For All and Project Fit

“It is different to imagine tennis without Serena Williams who have influenced a generation of female players and left a mark that no sibling in sport’s can equal”. (Glyn Clarke) Her prominence in tennis is growing this includes her impact on inspiring African American tennis players. Before Williams, black athletes faced unique challenges, but Williams helped promote progress , instead of over focusing on the negativity. She is working so that future athletes won't have to face the same inequality . “ Serena has been at or near the top of her sport longer than almost any other athletes. ”(Lindsay Gibbs) Before Serena entered no female had earned over 56 million dollars in prize money . Tennis today is much more depth and quality competition than existed during the 1970s and 1980s. When became the second African American women to claim a Grand Slam title , later becoming a U.S. Open Champion. Before Serena no tennis player brought a mixture of maturity, fashion , business and a foot in the entertainment realm as an actress. Williams had been the likely target for a new generation of record chasers yet to

Princess Diana was an inspiration for many people around the world and used her royalty to highlight major social issues. Diana’s dedication to humanitarian work helped to promote awareness and raise money for a wide range of charitable causes, including her campaign against landmines and her kind hearted approach to the AIDS predicament. Diana crossed boundaries to offer support to casualties and worked hard to change the opinions of the general public, which didn't particularly follow royal protocol because she lead from the heart, not the head.

Throughout the years, sports have become a major part of society. Sports, a large percentage of the time, are a part of peoples’ lives in one way or another. Whether they participate in them or just enjoy watching them, sports are a big deal to the majority of people. There are also some individuals who have redefined the expectations when it comes to certain sports. For instance, Babe Ruth redefined the way people think about baseball, or Michael Jordan completely changing the game of basketball. But Joe Louis and Venus and Serena Williams have changed their games in a way no one could have imagined. Although “Champion of the World” by Maya Angelou and “Woman Who Hit Very Hard and How They’ve Changed Tennis” by Michael Kimmelman are different, they are similar in the ways they show how the respected athletes, Joe Louis and the Williams sisters, changed the game and were seen using symbolism in racial and sexual progression.

Serena Williams is the number one women’s tennis player in the world. Her outstanding skills have earned her 50 million dollars through just prizes; that is more than any other athlete in the world (“Serena Williams Fast Facts”). Her fast reflexes, amazing skills, and outgoing personality have made her known as a powerful woman and an inspiration to many young girls. This African-American woman is almost six feet tall and is made of steel. With her long, muscular legs and her quick arms, no wonder she is number one!

One of the biggest things that she pushed for in her career was equal pay for men and women in sports. This was a struggle for her as she had trouble paying for her tennis. In the early days of her playing she was not allowed in the picture of her first tennis club because she was not wearing the proper tennis skirt, but instead had on shorts. Her family did not have a lot of extra money to put into her expensive tennis career and it was hard for them to afford the elitists sport. She along with other women had to stand up and risk being band from the tennis league when they signed one dollar contracts with the Virginia Slims to bring attention to the struggle for equal play. It became apparent to Billy even from the young age that she was when she was not allowed in the picture because of her attire that women where not

When women decide to participate in sports traditionally for men such as bodybuilding, they risk the chance of being socially stereotyped as lesbians, or simply viewed as "less feminine" then say women figure skaters. For example, Venus Williams is seen as criticized for being very masculine in build and judged on that by her performance. The media has commented on how well she plays, and has compared her to men in her sport. She receives fewer endorsements than many other tennis players do because of her looks (but mainly due to her race).

Serena and Venus both began their career on the professional tour in the late 1990s. Early on both of the sisters began to show off their skills and surprised many people who did not know much about them. When they started they began to beat high ranked players on the pro tour. Serena won her first championship in 1999 at the Australian Open and Venus won her first championship in 2000 at Wimbledon. Serena’s Grand slam title victory in 1999 made her the second African-American woman to win a grand slam title, with Althea Gibson being the

There are many people in this world that we consider great humanitarians. Mother Teresa was a unique individual that stood out of the crowd because of her involvement in helping the sick, poor and dying. She spent everyday of her adulthood caring for people that were in need by setting up the Missionary of Charity along with many homes for the people she cared for. Mother Teresa won many awards throughout her lifetime for her dedication to care for people in need. It is no wonder that Mother Teresa won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and is considered a saint.