Grace Under Pressure Isn’t the Point: What Taylor Townsend Teaches Us About Dismantling Anti-Blackness in Leadership

Tennis fan or not, you may be familiar with the experience Taylor Townsend had at the US Open last week, when opponent Jelena Ostapenko chastised her after being defeated during their second-round matchup. In a conversation before exiting the court, Ostapenko told Townsend that she had “no class” and “no education” all while pointing her finger in Townsend’s face. 

Ostapenko has since apologized for her behavior in a post on her Instagram stories, and said that English is not her native language; so when she told Townsend that she had no education, she was referring to tennis etiquette. Townsend went on to advance to the fourth round of the US Open, but with her incredible display of talent sharing headlines with the Ostapenko exchange.

Anti-Black Racism as Both a Distraction and Point of Focus

Toni Morrison’s words on one of the most harmful functions of racism come to mind when I think of Taylor Townsend: 

“The function, the very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being. Somebody says you have no language and you spend twenty years proving that you do. Somebody says your head isn’t shaped properly so you have scientists working on the fact that it is. Somebody says you have no art, so you dredge that up. Somebody says you have no kingdoms, so you dredge that up. None of this is necessary. There will always be one more thing.”

It can be easy to look at Taylor’s ability to go high when they go low and to be gracious under pressure as ‘Black excellence’ or something to be applauded. We can celebrate Taylor for still doing her work (and doing it exceedingly well) and also acknowledge one of the most critical points that is often overlooked in Toni Morrison’s articulation of the function of racism being a distraction: none of this is necessary.

Specifically, what’s unnecessary and an undue burden in Taylor’s case are harmful narratives and focus on Ostapenko’s racism that becomes the focal of the story, instead of the fact that this was one of Townsend’s best runs in the US Open. While I applaud Taylor for keeping her eyes on the prize, there’s part of me that hurts and feels upset that she was put in this predicament in the first place. This feeling is exactly what Toni Morrison was alluding to. Whether Taylor personally stayed fixated on that incident or not, millions others are still grappling with the distraction that Ostapenko produced, instead of the excellence in athleticism that was on display. 

Anti-Black racism is foundational to most structures

Taylor’s treatment is also something that Black women across all professions have likely been able to relate to at some point in their career, since anti-Black racism is a feature and not a bug of American culture. The more than 300,000 Black women who have left the workforce over the last three months due to factors such as federal job cuts and rollbacks of DEI programs represent this, with the undergirding purpose of these decisions being to undercut, undermine, and eliminate pathways that provide a modicum of wealth and stability for anyone that is not a cishetero, rich, White man. 

Just like the corporate world, tennis has a long history of anti-Black racism. Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson may have broken color barriers at the time in the sport, but racism has remained central to the sport’s function and has harmed Black women in more recent years such as Venus and Serena Williams, Coco Gauff, and Naomi Osaka. Anti-Black racism and White Supremacy Culture have not died off over generations because they are behaviors and beliefs that are harbored, cultivated and protected over time – but it does not mean that they can’t be dismantled.

Dismantling anti-Black racism and White Supremacy Culture in the workplace

How do Black women thrive in a system not built for them no matter their best efforts, and how can organizations shift what’s become an expectation in American working culture? 

For Black women:

• Get the support you need – whether a coach, professional development program, or mental health support, get your system in place. These structures aren’t meant for you to go at it alone, and a supportive network of mentors, peers, and trusted advisors can keep you steady when racism inevitably rears its ugly head. 

For companies/organizations:

• Keep investing in Black women and shifting elements of your culture – dismantling and uprooting anti-Blackness and White Supremacy Culture take intentional, mindful, and willful attempts to shift power and engage in truth-telling. This shift ultimately makes organizations more productive, efficient, and inclusive. 

The Call to Leaders

If we are serious about equity, then leaders must stop treating anti-Blackness as an unfortunate byproduct of organizational culture and start treating its dismantling as a non-negotiable responsibility. That means naming it, confronting it, and creating systems that value and sustain Black women for who they are and what they contribute.