Serena Williams, Soul Intact
In a world where people often confine what they think women are capable of, there are no limits to how much winning Serena Williams can do. Preview her America Issue cover story with this short film, then read it today at 11 a.m. EDT.
Serena Williams appears on the cover of The FADER’s new America Issue, in a story to be published online today at 11 a.m. EDT. Until then, get a taste of her interview with this accompanying short film, made near her home in West Palm Beach, Florida.
As a whole, The America Issue asks the question: How do you make a life in America? Serena Williams always had to provide her own answer. As Elena Bergeron writes in the cover story, “There has been no blueprint for an athlete to arrive at the intersection of gender and race and dominance and scrutiny that she has. Perhaps even more than her wins, Williams’s greatest feat has been the very act of breathing herself into existence.”
From Compton to the French Open and to schools she has opened across Africa, Williams has carved a truly unique path, learning lessons from foremothers like Althea Gibson and Zina Garrison but then, frankly, taking her sport to new heights. In her unwavering self-belief, and her belief in the value of each unique person, Williams also sees a lesson for all — women of color, women in general, anybody. “Whether I’m winning or losing, I am who I am,” she says. “I don’t apologize for my color or my sex or for anything.”
Read the full interview later today, along with all the stories from our America Issue.