I Fear For The Safety Of My Young Family Members In The United States —Serena Williams

World Number One tennis player, Serena Williams has just won her seventh Wimbledon title. The win which is also her 22nd Grand Slam makes her equal the record set by Steffi Graf.

The World Number One should be the happiest woman in the world today but her joy is being stolen by the events in the United States, her home country, where the heartless killing of African-Americans by white Policemen has triggered racial violence. As it is, no one is sure of what will happen next.

She told ITV shortly after beating Angelique Kerber to secure her 22nd Grand Slam: “I feel anyone in my colour in particular is of concern. I do have nephews and I’m thinking, ‘do I have to call them and tell them, don’t go outside?’

”’If you get in your car, it might be the last time I see you. That is something that I think is of great concern because it will be devastating. They’re very good kids.”

Sounding really worried over the incessant killing of young black people by law enforcement agents in the U.S., she said: “I don’t think the answer is to continue to shoot our young black men in the United States. It’s just unfortunate.”

However, she does not approve of the retaliatory killing of five white cops in Dallas by a black sniper. “Violence is not the answer to solving it. The shooting in Dallas was very sad. No one deserves to lose their life, doesn’t matter what colour they are, where they’re from.”

And this is how she summed up the entire situation: “We’re all human. We have to learn that we have to love one another. It’s going to take a lot of education and a lot of work, I think to get to that point. But I think, in general, the entire situation is extremely sad, especially for someone like me. It’s something that is very painful to see happening.”