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Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year Ceremony 2015

Serena Williams is among the greatest athletes on the planet, and she also happens to be a Black woman. Today, she used her platform to speak out about police brutality by sharing a deeply personal anecdote about what it’s like to be driving while Black.

In the touching and honest message, Serena writes, Today I asked my 18 year old nephew (to be clear he’s black) to drive me to my meetings so I can work on my phone #safteyfirst. In the distance I saw cop on the side of the road. I quickly checked to see if he was obliging by the speed limit.”

She continued, “Than [sic] I remembered that horrible video of the woman in the car when a cop shot her boyfriend. All of this went through my mind in a matter of seconds. I even regretted not driving myself. I would never forgive myself if something happened to my nephew. He’s so innocent. So were all ‘the others’…”

“Why did I have to think about this in 2016? Have we not gone through enough, opened so many doors, impacted billions of lives? But I realized we must stride on- for it’s not how far we have come but how much further still we have to go,” she went on, before concluding, “I than wondered than have I spoken up? I had to take a look at me. What about my nephews? What if I have a son and what about my daughters? As Dr. Martin Luther King said  ‘There comes a time when silence is betrayal’. I Won’t Be Silent.”

We couldn’t be prouder of Serena for sharing her feelings, which sadly far too many people of color will find familiar. Hopefully more celebrities will continue to do the same.

SOURCE: Facebook | PHOTO: Getty

Must Read: Serena Williams Posts Deeply Personal Message About Black Lives Matter On Facebook  was originally published on globalgrind.com