I'm Proud To Wear This Color Every Day

Serena Williams sits down with Common to talk about race and identity.

- Common

As an Oscar-winning hip-hop Renaissance man, Common has brought a spotlight to nuanced discussions of race and activism. His latest contribution to the dialogue was the November release of his album Black America Again, a critically acclaimed musical expression of the tensions of our time. It's also a reflection of the conversations he's had with prominent figures about racial divisiveness in this country. 

One of those people is his longtime friend Serena Williams. After a year in which the sports world was dominated by national-anthem protests and equal-pay debates, Common and the tennis legend recently sat down for a candid conversation about fame, race and gender. What follows is an edited, condensed version of Undefeated in Depth: Serena and Common, an interview special that debuted on ESPN. 

COMMON: Do you feel like you and Venus opened up doors for black women in sports? 

SERENA WILLIAMS: Obviously, everything I’ve done is because of the help of my sister Venus. But when I started out, I never thought, “I want to open up doors for black athletes,” and then to female athletes. I ended up on this path and people started looking up to me and it was different, because I was like, “I’m just doing me.” And people were starting to appreciate it; I was like, “Wow, OK, that’s kind of cool.”

C: Was it a weight that you didn’t know you were going to have to take on?

SW: I never think of it as a weight. I believe that God never gives you more than what you can handle, and for me, I’m not carrying it alone. I embrace it.

C: Do you ever get discouraged, feeling like you’ve got too much responsibility or that people expect too much from you?