Althea Gibson was born in Silver, South Carolina in 1927. Both of her parents were sharecroppers and would spend their days picking cotton. That’s right, I’m telling y’all Black labor was still being used for cotton picking in the 1920s! Anyway, in the 30s, the Great Depression hit and many rural farmers were no longer able to make a living, let alone employ a staff. So the Gibson family packed up and moved to Harlem. It was here Althea would spend her nights playing paddle tennis with her siblings and other lil friends. Except here’s the thing. Althea, even at a young age was super good at it. Like, the other kids kinda just wanted to mess around and hit some balls. Meanwhile, Althea was honing her paddle tennis skills and by the age of 12 was crowned New York City’s Women’s Paddle Tennis Champion. Not “Girl’s Champion” she was competing with whole ass adults. Paddle tennis wasn’t her only sport, not by a long shot. She was real good at basketball, and her father even taught her how to box. By the age of 13, she was super focused on sports and ended up fully dropping out of school. She also left home as her father had a violent streak and Althea wanted no parts of it. This resulted in her having to spend time in protective shelter, and for a time she was on the streets often engaging in street fights. Now, I don’t know about y’all, but I wouldn’t want no types of trouble with Althea during her fighting years. After seeing the road she was heading down, a group of concerned neighbors took up a collection so that Althea could purchase a membership at the Cosmopolitan Tennis Club in Harlem. They thought it’d be a better outlet for Althea than like…punching folk in the head. Althea didn’t even like tennis at first. She’s quoted as saying she thought it was a sport for weak people…which again, Althea was not. She would reflect on her start in tennis, writing, "I kept wanting to fight the other player every time I started to lose a match." And like, me too Althea, me too! In 1941 at the age of 14 Althea would enter and win her first tournament with the American Tennis Association. She won the ATA’s national championship in both 1944 and 1945. She would lose the next year but then would win the first of ten straight National tennis titles in 1947. She had mad confidence too, Althea would say of her winning streak, "I knew that I was an unusual, talented girl - I didn't need to prove that to myself. I only wanted to prove it to my opponents.” She caught the eye of a physician named Walter Johnson. Johnson was super active in the Tennis Community and would go on to mentor Arthur Ashe, but first, he wanted to mentor Althea. After gaining valuable knowledge from Johnson, and winning some more tournaments, Althea decided she wanted to go back to school. She moved to North Carolina and attended Williston Industrial High School before being accepted into Florida A&M University on a full ride athletic scholarship. In 1950 after a lot of racist shenanigans barred her from access to Tennis Clubs, Althea became the first Black Woman to be invited to the US Open (then just called “The United States Nationals”). She lost narrowly but gained national attention as no one had ever seen a Black Woman dominate the court the way Althea had. Seven years later Althea would win the Wimbledon Championship, she was of course the only Black Champion the tournament had ever seen, and she would go on to win two more! Her first win was even recognized by Queen Elizabeth II who personally presented Althea with the trophy. After becoming basically unstoppable at Wimbledon, Althea was named Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press in 1957 and 1958. She also would appear on the covers of both Sports Illustrated AND Time Magazine and yup…she was the first Black Woman to do either of those things. So what was next for Althea? Well, she had a pretty solid career in entertainment. Yeah, she was also an amazing singer, and saxophonist. She recorded an album, went on the Ed Sullivan Show, and performed at the Apollo. Then in 1964 Gibson said, “You know what? I think I wanna play golf now.” Was she good at it? Um, I’mma let you go ahead and guess. She broke several LGPA records and earned a modest living playing in golf tournaments until her retirement in 1978. Later in life, Althea would become the director for women’s sports for the Essex County Parks Commission in New Jersey, but tired of the job as she wasn’t allowed to deviate from the strict guidelines of the organization. She retired from the position a year later. On September 28, 2003 Althea Gibson passed away from complications from a heart attack she had suffered at the beginning of the year. She was buried in the Rosedale Cemetery in New Jersey. Honestly, how do I wrap this one up? What a life! This woman was a pioneer in sport and just a heroine in general. Like, to be so gifted at so many things in an era where folks didn’t want to see her on a court, let alone defeating countless white opponents. I’m humbled that she left such an amazing legacy and will always remember the contributions of Althea Gibson. Thank you, Althea, Thank you!
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