During the Super Bowl, Serena Williams made a surprise appearance during Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance. At one point, she appeared to perform the Crip Walk, a dance with origins tied to the Crips gang in Los Angeles.
Social media quickly reacted, pointing out that the gang is linked to the 2003 fatal shooting of Serena’s sister, Yetunde Price. This connection sparked a debate over whether the dance should have been performed at such a high-profile event.
What is the Crip Walk?
The Crip Walk (C-Walk) originated in Compton, California, during the 1970s. It was created by Robert Jackson, a first-generation member of the Crips gang, according to LadBible.
Originally, Crips members used the dance as a symbol of allegiance to their gang. The dance involves intricate foot movements, where dancers often spell out “C-R-I-P” with their feet. Some members even performed the dance after carrying out violent crimes.
Over time, the Crip Walk became mainstream, especially in hip-hop culture. Rappers like Snoop Dogg, Ice-T, and Ice Cube popularized it, performing it in music videos and live shows.
Who killed Serena Williams’ sister, Yetunde Price?
In 2003, Yetunde Price was killed in a drive-by shooting in Compton, California. A gunshot shattered the window of her white SUV and struck her in the back of the head. She was 31 years old at the time.
In a 2007 interview with People magazine, Serena admitted that it was still difficult to talk about her sister’s death.
“Yetunde and I were so close; she changed my diapers,” Serena said. “But I finally came to an acceptance of things.”
In 2016, Serena and Venus Williams opened the Yetunde Price Resource Center in Compton to support families affected by violence.
“We definitely wanted to honor our sister’s memory because she was a great sister; she was our oldest sister, and, obviously, she meant a lot to us,” Serena shared at the time.
She continued, “And it meant a lot to us, to myself and to Venus and my other sisters as well, Isha and Lyndrea, that we’ve been wanting to do something for years in memory of her, especially the way it happened—a violent crime.”
The Super Bowl controversy has reignited discussions about the Crip Walk’s history and whether it should be separated from its gang-related origins.
