The Buzz: For Colored Girls who are angry… when being free doesn’t seem like enough

The media is having a field day with the most recent event at the U.S. Open involving Serena Williams. Some of my more recent conversations on the topic with others have insinuated that she was being a “poor loser”, “she over reacted”, and also eluded to her bringing up her daughter as an excuse to go on a verbal rampage. To me this is not the case.

We pose this question to you: What would you have done in this situation? Most of the time we can judge someone’s situation from the outside without having an inkling of what they have encountered. Our own identities and experiences shape the individuals that we are, and that at times can be forever revolving. Even in one of Serena’s latest commercials, she’s depicted as entangled in the balance of being a mother and an athlete:

We intended on using this week’s Buzz as an opportunity to discuss some of the recent media attention around Serena Williams—the disagreement between her and the umpire, her decision to take a stand and defend her character and integrity by any means, the recent calling out of gender inequities in sports, some of the problematic ways in which the media has responded, and the unique experiences of Black women as they navigate the intersection of their race and gender identities in white-male dominated spaces.

There have been countless articles and think-pieces that have covered one or more of those angles. This post is different, though—in its purpose and intended audience. This post is for the Black women who know Serena’s experience all to well. And we’re tired of having to get angry for people to take notice… only for most to reduce us to our anger.

For those of you who have felt that…This one is for you.

This post is for the Black women who have worked hard to live authentic, whole lives in the midst of a culture that intends to diminish us. This is for the Black women who have worked to prove themselves and their talents over and over again. This is for the Black girls who know freedom within themselves, but live in a world that doesn’t seem to allow that freedom.

Lena Waithe gave a speech at the Black Girls Rock Awards this weekend about getting free. Serena owning herself and her life on and off the court is the greatest example of that. We hope these videos — the first of Serena Williams and the umpire and the second of Lena Waithe — and their examples inspire you to get free in your own way. Sometimes anger is the exact expression we use to demonstrate just how free we are. Sometimes, we just need to let someone know that we, our lives and our careers and our hard work, are worth getting angry over when others decide it’s not enough. It is. We are. Be angry. Be free.