"Picked up a stick, my attack was quick & vicious" - When Serena Williams' father Richard ambushed a white farmer & son while impersonating KKK member
Serena Williams' father Richard once disguised himself as a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) member to ambush a white farmer and his son. The American disclosed that he saw the attack as an act of retribution for the racist atrocities committed against him by the hate group.
Richard Williams had a difficult childhood in Shreveport, Louisiana, growing up in extreme poverty. After his father abandoned their family, the American was forced to become the head of the household at a young age, taking up the responsibility of caring for his mother and four younger sisters. To make ends meet, Williams even had to resort to "stealing from white people."
In his memoir 'Black and White: The Way I See It,' Richard Williams detailed the brutal actions of the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist group, against him and the Black community. He recounted the harrowing details of how the Klan had killed his best friend, Lil Man, punishing him for stealing by "cutting off both his hands with an ax and lynching his shocked body from a tree."
Williams himself was beaten by three KKK members in front of a crowd, with no one coming to his aid. Finding himself frustrated by the persistent atrocities, the American planned to retaliate by "infiltrating" the Ku Klux Klan.
"Anger was my life. I found strength challenging the Klan to see how far I could go. Before I left Shreveport for Chicago, I planned to give back a piece of what had been given to me all my life. I was going to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan," Serena Williams' father said.
Serena Williams' father stole the infamous Klan robes and hood from a member and rode his bicycle into a "white neighborhood." After dressing himself in the KKK outfit and covering his hands in light-skinned makeup to hide his identity, the American selected a white farmer and his teenage son as his targets.
Empowered by his anonymity, Williams rained down a quick and "vicious" attack on the duo, striking them on the head with a stick, which caused them to cry out and collapse.
"I walked two blocks before selecting my victims — a white farmer and his teenaged son sitting on a park bench, smoking and drinking. My hatred was up, and so was my longing to pay back somebody, anybody, for everything that ever happened to me," he said.
"I felt the power anonymity gave me. I picked up a stick. My attack was quick and vicious. I crept up behind them in the darkness, brought the stick down on their heads, and they cried out and fell to the ground," he added.
"I ran away as fast as I could, I pedaled like the devil himself was chasing me" - Serena Williams' father Richard on the aftermath of his attack
Serena Williams' father Richard disclosed that he promptly fled the scene after attacking the white farmer and his son, recounting the rush of adrenaline he experienced after he made his way home.
"I ran away as fast as I could. I pedaled slowly down the street until I was outside the white neighborhood, then pedaled like the devil himself was chasing me. When I pulled into my yard, my heart was racing from the adrenaline rush," Serena Williams' father said.
In his memoir, Richard Williams also reflected on the profound impact of his father's abandonment, opening up about his struggle "to understand why his father didn’t love him."
Additionally, the American shed light on how he managed to overcome all the challenges to provide for his family, moving them into a "little-better house" at just thirteen years of age.