For the latest edition of Wired magazine, Serena Williams is doing more than just gracing the cover.
The tennis superstar is also serving as a guest editor in a special issue designed to look specifically at the issues of equality and diversity across a range of different communities and backgrounds. From science fiction to sports and from science to Hollywood, many different voices have joined together to tell their stories.
In her editorial, Williams talked about a multitude of ways that we can help fight for equality for ourselves and each other. She mentioned educational programs like Black Girls Code, and also noted the simple need to stand up for people who are being harassed (for example, she specifically mentioned the moment famed author J.K. Rowling stood up for and inspired her.)
She also called for more opportunity for people of every background:
Equality is important. In the NFL, they have something called the Rooney rule. It says that teams have to interview minority candidates for senior jobs. It’s a rule that companies in Silicon Valley are starting to follow too, and that’s great. But we need to see more women and people of different colors and nationalities in tech. That’s the reason I wanted to do this issue with WIRED—I’m a black woman, and I am in a sport that wasn’t really meant for black people. And while tennis isn’t really about the future, Silicon Valley sure is. I want young people to look at the trailblazers we’ve assembled below and be inspired. I hope they eventually become trailblazers themselves. Together we can change the future.
You can check out Williams’ full editorial here, and you should definitely go out and get the November issue for more amazing stories like hers, and to support black women having a much larger place in all technological fields and industries.
article via thegrio.com
