‘King Richard,’ Hair Day, and What I Wish Venus Knew

We finally have a film about Venus and Serena Williams in King Richard. It is not a biopic, however. The story is actually about their father, Richard Williams, and his journey in raising a house full of gifted girls. We get to see the rise of the two phenoms through the protective lens of Black fatherhood, the point of view of a man hellbent on preserving Black girlhood for his daughters. This lens is a powerful one too. It is through Richards's eyes that I felt for the first time the devastation and excruciating loss Venus and by extension (for her) experienced…