Tennis star Serena Williams posted a Facebook status last week commenting on the state of race relations in the United States. She says she was prompted to write the post after feeling afraid for her nephew as he passed a policeman while driving her to a meeting. "Why did I have to think about this in 2016?" she asked in her post. "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."
Reverends Emmett G. Price III and Irene Monroe joined Jim and Margery for their regular Monday feature, "All Revved Up” on Boston Public Radio, to talk about Serena Williams and other headlines.
“What it highlights is just because you’re a superstar and well-known, it doesn’t make... you immune to driving while black,” said Reverend Irene Monroe. She went on to say that people of color experience a profound sense of stress about the wellbeing of their black family members as they drive.
The Reverends also noted the criticism faced by celebrities who speak out against police violence. Reverend Emmett Price brought up the example of Colin Kaepernick, the NFL player who made headlines this year for kneeling during the national anthem. “This is, again, somebody with privilege, using their privilege to say, ‘Something’s wrong...’ There’s going to be scrutiny on both sides because we live in a society that’s guided and really guarded by fear,” said Price.
To listen to the entire conversation click on the audio link above
