If we’ve learned anything from Venus Williams since she first stepped on the court at the young age of 14, it’s that she’s completely and utterly fearless. After 26 years of being a professional tennis player, you’d think her greatest career accomplishments would be that she’s won 49 WTA singles titles and 22 doubles, and seven grand slams. But actually, the tennis superstar says her greatest victory is when she got women equal prize money at Wimbledon.
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In the mid-2000s she helped to convince the governing bodies of Wimbledon and the French Open to award men and women equal prize money. “That was something we had been working on since the 1960s,” Williams told People. “It was long overdue.” Fighting for human rights and against injustices is something the Olympic gold medal winner has been doing for years — and she’s still using her power to speak up. “Just as sexism is not only a ‘women’s issue,’” she wrote on Instagram, “racism is not only a ‘black issue.’”
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She goes on to say that we need to hire and cast people of color and create opportunities for Black youth before they enter adulthood. “It’s important for me to help give minorities, disadvantaged youth and Black children the opportunity to play sports and have an education—just as I was given those opportunities. In turn, that gives them the opportunity to be excellent.”
Williams has her mom to thank for pushing her to receive an education and explore her talents. “Her support and encouragement is what led me to realize my love for fashion and design and to get degrees in those fields,” she says. Not everyone has a supporter in their life cheering them on from the sidelines like Williams’ mom, but they can look to Williams as a role model who has faith in women to reach their highest potential.
Like Venus Williams,Beyoncé, Meghan Markle, and more Stars are fighting to change HERstory and fight for equal pay.
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