From the cotton fields of Shreveport, to the Pinnacle of Human Achievement

A review of a New York Times Magazine article profiling Venus Williams, Titled The Pioneer by Elizabeth Weil

By Steve Halpern

It happens to be August and these are the weeks leading up to the United States Open Tennis Tournament. The tournament is held in Flushing Meadows, New York. So, at this time of the year, the New York Times Magazine has feature stories about various issues in tennis.

The current issue of the N.Y. Times Magazine features Venus Williams in an article titled The Pioneer by Elizabeth Weil. However, there is something different about this article. Last week, the entire issue of the New York Times Magazine was dedicated to a story titled 1619. 1619 was the date the first African slaves entered what is now the United States. A series of articles argued that this event was a turning point for the history of this country.

In her article, Elizabeth Weil reported on the book Black and White: The Way I See It. This is the autobiography of Venus Williams father, Richard Williams. In that book, Richard Williams told the story of his 78 page proposal wrtten before Venus and Serena Williams were born. This proposal outlined how he would raise two daughters who would become tennis champions. So, the question to be asked is: How did this happen?

Clearly Elizabeth Weil is a competent writer and she wrote a compelling story. However, in my opinion she failed to get to the heart of the issue.

Richard Williams dedicated his autobiography to his mother Julia Metcalf Williams. Weil never mentioned Richard Williams mother in her article.

Julia Metcalf Williams raised five children on her own. She did the excruciating work of picking cotton and took in laundry as a side job. She managed to live this life under the vicious conditions of Jim Crow segregation.

As an infant she took Richard Williams into the cotton fields and introduced him to that life. As with many parents who managed to raise their children in this horrendous environment, she nurtured William and gave him the strength to deal with the world.

In that horrendous environment, Richard Williams’ closest friend was lynched by the Ku Klux Klan. It was this nurturing, in a harsh environment, that was the foundation of the training for Venus and Serena Williams.

When I first learned of the Williams sisters, I thought their family became wealthy because of the sister’s tennis careers. This was not true. Richard Williams owned businesses before Venus and Serena were born. As a result, his family’s home with Oracene Williams was initially in the middle class area of Long Beach, California.

The family members didn’t like the fact that Richard Williams insisted that the family move to the mean streets of Compton, California. He felt that his daughters would need to develop an attitude in Compton that might prepare them for the pressure cooker atmosphere of championship tennis.

Anyone who is familiar with the tennis game of the Williams sisters might appreciate the following observation. Clearly they both have a consistently effective game. However, when they were both at the zenith of their careers, they rarely, if ever, backed down at crucial points in important matches. The results have been that the Williams sisters have dominated the sport of women’s tennis for about seventeen years.

Weil also reported that Venus Williams was a leader in women’s sports. She made it clear that her ability was going to make her a champion, and that she deserved that distinction. This attitude inspired an entire generation of athletes that include her sister Serena.

Serena Williams credits her sister with literally all of her achievements. Elizabeth Weil reported that one of Venus Williams most outstanding qualities is her loyalty to those she cares for. Isn’t loyalty a necessary ingredient for dealing with a hostile environment?

1619

When we think about that question, we might also think about the hundreds of years that millions of Black people endured slavery, Jim Crow segregation, thousands of lynchings, as well as the mass incarceration we see today. How could parents raise their children, when they could be snatched away at a moments notice, and sold to another slave owner? How could parents raise children when they might be lynched by the KKK, or discriminated against throughout their lives? Well, parents of Black children did these things for hundreds of years. This is our history.

So, Richard Williams learned lessons from his mother Julia that the educational system in this country doesn’t teach. He learned that children who are raised in a nurturing and disciplined atmosphere have the potential to become champions of the world.

Jack Johnson, Mohammed Ali, Althea Gibson, & Arthur Ashe

I also feel it is useful to look at the examples of other Black athletes in history. The first Black Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World was Jack Johnson. In those days, most caucasian boxing fans felt it was impossible for a Black athlete to win a match against a white opponent. Then, Jack Johnson completely dominated his white opponent to win the heavyweight championship. Johnson was not only effective in the ring, he was an effective advocate for Black rights.

In those days, the ruling powers of this country considered Johnson’s victory as completely unacceptable. They framed him up on the outrageous charge of violation of the Mann Act. As a result Johnson spent one year in prison.

What was the evidence against Johnson? He gave money to a woman who had been a prostitute to be with her mother. This involved crossing state lines. To give money to a prostitute to cross state lines was a violation of the Mann Act. What did Johnson say after his conviction? "They crucified Christ, why not me?"

President Donald Trump gave Jack Johnson a full pardon of these charges over 100 years after his conviction.  

Mohammed Ali was another Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World. Ali also supported Black rights. He refused to fight in the war against Vietnam and gave the following reason: “No Vietnamese ever called me a n—word.”

As a result, Ali lost his title and was prevented from earning a living as a fighter for several years.

Althea Gibson was raised in Harlem, New York. She became an athlete in that environment and would eventually dominate women’s tennis.

When Gibson competed, tennis was an amateur game. The players only received expense money for competing in championship tournaments. As a result, Gibson never earned enough money in tennis to sustain her and received contributions from fans to pay her expenses.

Arthur Ashe was raised in the Jim Crow state of Virginia. He was barred from using tennis courts reserved for white players. He was also barred from competing in certain tournaments.

Arthur Ashe wrote about how there was an immense amount of pressure on tennis players because they were on the court alone, without teammates or a coach. Yet Ashe was known for never loosing his cool in a match.

Ashe was the coach of John McEnroe in the Davis Cup. Ashe was disturbed by McEnroe when he exploded in a temper tantrum on the court. Then, Ashe wished he could from time to time also express his rage when he felt justified. Because he was Black, Ashe felt that there would be consequences for those actions. Looking at the history, he clearly had a point.

Last year Serena Williams was in the final of the United States Open Tournament. She was enraged by the call of an umpire that she felt questioned her character. At the time I felt she was justified in her complaint.

Whether she was right or not, I don’t think is the main point. We are human beings, who at times, become enraged. When we look at the history of Black people in this country, I believe they have the right to express their rage when they feel it is justified. 

In Elizabeth Weil's article, she reported that Venus Williams spoke to the organizers of the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament demanding equal pay for women. This is what Weil wrote about Williams' remarks in that meeting:

"She asked the assembled to imagine being little girls who had worked all their lives to make it to a stage like Wimbledon. Then she asked them to imagine those little girls once they made it being told that Wimbledon valued boys more. How could a girl retain full belief in herself under those circumstances? Why cut girls down?"

Venus Williams became the first women's champion at Wimbledon to receive equal prize money as men.     

Wimbledon

One of the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world is Wimbledon that takes place in Britain. The royal family of that nation routinely attends this event. This tournament is broadcast throughout the world.

We know from history that the roots of the wealth of British capitalists came from what was known as the triangular trade. Britain sent guns to Africa. Slave ships carried Africans to the Americas, and ships carrying cotton and sugar sailed to Britain.

We might also think about the fact that the British Empire at one time included the African nations of Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa. This was another source of the wealth of Britain.

In Kenya, hundreds of thousands of people from that nation died in the Mau Mau uprising that demanded the British leave their homeland.

Clearly the newscasters never report on these facts when covering the tournament at Wimbledon. However, when we look at that history, I believe we get a new perspective for the fact that both Williams sisters have been champions at Wimbledon on many occasions. The millions of dollars in their prize money is just a small part of the enormous amount of wealth taken from Black people by British capitalists.

Today, we live in a world where problems appear to be so profound, many believe they are inevitable. My opinion is that Julia Metcalf Williams, Richard Williams, Oracene Williams, as well as Venus and Serena Williams have given us a different perspective to all of this. Clearly they don’t pretend to lead a movement to transform the world. However, this story shows us that humanity is capable of truly extraordinary accomplishments, when we learn an unvarnished view of our history.