Townsend discusses significance of Black Girl Magic

Taylor Townsend recently sat down with Yahoo Sports to talk about the importance of the Black Girl Magichashtag on social media, and how it's provided a safe place for many women of color to celebrate their uniquenesses. Although there are more Black women than ever in tennis, Townsend often felt isolated.

"It's not a united place. I've had people argue with me to tell me that I'm Coco Gauff. I'm not Coco Gauff, but all of us look the same, all of us are built the same. Everybody sees a Black person and they assume that it's Venus or Serena," Townsend said in the video.

The 24-year-old's issues in the tennis realm extend far past being recognized as Serena or Coco. She has had to deal with racial bias off the court due to the color of her skin.

"You walk through and no one stops you," Townsend said. "And, I'm walking through and somebody has to check my bag, check my credential."

The current racial tensions have affected her in numerous ways, which is why hashtags like Black Girl Magic serve as a safe place to empower women of color and pay homage to their hard work.

Townsend takes pride in her differences and loves seeing other Black women on various social media platforms shining through in athletics, academics, social media and beyond. No matter the age, light-skinned, dark-skinned, transgender, cisgender, poor or rich, the hashtag is uniting Black women all over the world.

This hashtag is not just a trend, its been around for years, all thanks to CaShawn Thompson, who created it with the long-term goal of empowering Black women. The first time she used the hashtag was to defend Serena Williams back in 2013 when the 23-time Grand Slam champion was facing scrutiny,  as she often has throughout her colorfully decorated career.

“I wasn’t just gonna sit there and let folks keep insulting my girl,” Thompson said to Yahoo Sports. “I see her as that. Women are strong. Women are smart. And those are all things you have to be to be successful in sports.”

The hashtag was anything but a viral moment, eight years later it's the core of celebrating Black women not for what they have, but who they are.

Last year, Townsend made the most of her time on the court during the rollercoaster 2020 season. With doubles partner Asia Muhammed, the two claimed Auckland and the Oracle Challenger Series event, before reaching the semifinals of last year's US Open.

She's now getting ready for another major step in her life, as she is currently five months pregnant with her first child. Townsend has plans of returning to the tour following her pregnancy.