IV
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. RES. 94
Honoring the contributions of Venus and Serena Williams.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 20, 2001
Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Government Reform
RESOLUTION
Honoring the contributions of Venus and Serena Williams.
Whereas, although Venus and Serena Williams are only 20
and 19 years old and only in their sixth and third full
years as professional tennis players respectively, they
have over 43 professional titles between them;
Whereas Venus and Serena Williams have broken racial and
socioeconomic barriers with pride and poise by showing
the world that tennis is a sport for all people;
Whereas Venus Williams is the first African-American woman
to win the Wimbledon Championships since 1958, is the
first United States woman since 1924 to win an Olympic
gold medal in both singles and doubles, holds the wom-
en’s world record for the fastest serve at 127 miles per
hour, and is one of only seven women to win the singles
•HRES 94 IH
titles in both the Wimbledon Championships and the U.S.
Open in the same year;
Whereas Serena Williams is only the second African-Amer-
ican woman ever to win a Grand Slam singles title, is
only the sixth American woman to win the U.S. Open
singles title since 1968, is only the fifth woman to win
both singles and doubles Grand Slam titles in the same
year, and is the first woman to reach the finals in a U.S.
Open debut since 1978;
Whereas Venus and Serena Williams are the first sisters in
professional tennis history to each win a Grand Slam sin-
gles title, the first to be ranked in the top ten simulta-
neously since 1991, the first to win a Grand Slam dou-
bles title together, the first to compete against one an-
other in a Women’s Tennis Association Tour final, and
the first to win an Olympic gold medal in doubles to-
gether;
Whereas Venus and Serena Williams have inspired and en-
couraged people of all backgrounds and ages, especially
those in their hometown of Compton, California, dem-
onstrating through the spirit of sport that education, a
good work ethic, teamwork, fortitude, and determination
are ingredients for success;
Whereas Venus and Serena Williams are African-American
role models, coached to excellence by their father, and en-
couraged by both parents to be leaders, to demonstrate
high moral and ethical standards, to value education, and
to never stray from these family values; and
Whereas Venus and Serena Williams have been beacons of
light to their community, passing out tennis rackets and
conducting tennis clinics for low income children, raising
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funds for community development, and joining our Na-
tion’s leaders in support of the Department of Transpor-
tation’s seat belt campaign ‘‘Buckle Up America!’’: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) honors and recognizes the achievements and
strides made by Venus and Serena Williams by giv-
ing back to their community, promoting excellence,
breaking barriers with pride and poise, showing that
tennis is a sport for all people; and
(2) urges all Americans to recognize the con-
tributions to American society made by Venus and
Serena Williams through their achievements and
community involvement.
Æ