https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m Frances Clayton Grau and Yanick Rice Lamb en-us 2022-02-04 17:19:26 UTC 2025-10-19 14:08:24 UTC hello@padlet.com sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2055539892 Althea Gibson was born on August 25, 1927 to Annie Bell and Daniel "Dush" Gibson. Her parents were cotton farmers who lived in Silver, the small town.

Quote #1: "Word spread all over Silver about "Dush" and Annie Bell's firstborn- "a big fat one" at eight pounds and long, too" (3). ]]> 2022-02-18 16:21:05 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2055539892 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2055580230 Gray, Frances Clayton, and Yanick Rice Lamb. Born to Win: The Authorized Biography of Althea Gibson. John Wiley & Sons, 2004. ]]> 2022-02-18 16:43:42 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2055580230 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2070126608 Althea was born in 1927, near the Great Depression. Daniel Gibson was struggling with providing for his growing family. ]]> 2022-02-28 19:02:07 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2070126608 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2070128120 https://www.britannica.com/topic/African-American/African-American-life-during-the-Great-Depression-and-the-New-Deal]]> 2022-02-28 19:02:55 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2070128120 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2071854042 After struggling in South Carolina, the Gibsons move to Harlem, a neighborhood in New York City. 

Quote #2: "...the Harlem that the Gibsons and other transplants encountered lived up to its reputation for good times and what they considered to be good jobs" (13). ]]> 2022-03-01 16:44:24 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2071854042 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2071856196 https://www.open.edu/openlearn/society/politics-policy-people/sociology/brief-history-harlem]]> 2022-03-01 16:45:30 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2071856196 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2071871271 Althea moves to Philadelphia, where she lives with her Aunt Daisy. Althea expressed her spirit and spunk here, something that symbolizes her childhood. Althea was determined to do what she wanted.

Quote #3: "And then there were the fights, where Althea was swinging either fists or branches at boys, chasing her around he neighborhood" (15).]]> 2022-03-01 16:52:32 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2071871271 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2074119502 Growing up Althea knew exactly how to defend herself. She rarely lost a fight, no matter who it was she was fighting. Dush believed she could become a boxer and gain popularity. 

Quote #4: "'And I knew right away that Al would make a world's champion'" (21). ]]> 2022-03-02 18:00:56 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2074119502 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2078370796 In 1941, Althea graduated Junior High and went on to attend Yorkville Trade School. This new school made her want to skip even more, and she continued to stay out on the streets playing games. Sometimes even leaving for weeks at a time, getting better at ball games ]]> 2022-03-04 17:49:08 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2078370796 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2078386812 Buddy Walker, a saxophonist who had seen Althea play at PAL, saw potential. Walker went on to invite her to play tennis with him and his tennis friends, and when she beat them all they were amazed. 12 year old Althea was playing at Harlem River Tennis Courts and making great progress before she even knew it. ]]> 2022-03-04 17:59:18 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2078386812 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2078391353 https://www.yourata.org/
The ATA, founded to increase the amount of black athletes.]]> 2022-03-04 18:01:55 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2078391353 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2078393962 Fred Johnson, known as one the best coaches in the city, was curious about Althea as he heard more about her. He himself loved tennis, which he started playing after losing his left arm. He was also a part of the American Tennis Association. Johnson was thoroughly impressed with Althea. ]]> 2022-03-04 18:03:41 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2078393962 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2080155837 The people Althea played tennis with at the Cosmopolitan were strict and behaved. As Al became more serious she discovered how she could be fierce and polite. She learned more and soon won the girls' singles in her first tournament in 1941.

Quote #5: "'I began to understand that you could walk out on the court like a lade, all dressed up in white, be polite to everybody and still play like a tiger'" (31). 

]]> 2022-03-06 18:29:10 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2080155837 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2080169305 After losing to Roumania Peters at the 1946 national singles, Althea was crushed. A man came up to her asking if she wanted to play Forest Hills, which she couldn't ever imagine. The man was Dr. R. Walter Johnson, and he wanted to turn Althea's tennis game around. He started by providing her an education, and she came to his home in the south during the first week of September where she attended Williston Industrial High School. ]]> 2022-03-06 18:46:28 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2080169305 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2086594548 Rosemary Darben and Althea were doubles partners, and best friends. They played hard but in good fun, and looked very similar. However, their personalities were extremely different from each other, as Althea was much more straightforward.

Quote #6: "We were both tall. I was five feet ten; she five feet eleven...we had a lot of fun together" (41). ]]> 2022-03-09 17:41:45 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2086594548 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2086603000 https://nwto.us/blog/a-history-of-segregation-in-us-tennis

Many people believed Althea would make history, but she had to break the color barrier first. ]]> 2022-03-09 17:46:10 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2086603000 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2086623278 During the winter of 1949, Althea was finally invited to compete! Her first all-white tournament was being held by her Harlem apartment. She was then asked to play in the National Indoor Championships even after losing. The girls were friendly and Althea was happy. She soon graduated and was attending FAMU on a basketball scholarship, as there were no tennis ones.

Quote #7: "'I had been invited to play with the white girls in one of the important tournaments, and I felt good about it. The world didn't have to reform overnight; I was willing to give it a few days" (46). ]]> 2022-03-09 17:56:55 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2086623278 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2086942081 Although Gibson had proven herself time and time again, she was yet to be invited to play at Forest Hills. People started noticing this, such as Alice Marble. Marble herself was a tennis champion, and after seeing the discrimination Gibson was facing wrote a lengthy letter. This letter did its magic, Gibson was reciving inviations and acceptances. ]]> 2022-03-09 21:18:32 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2086942081 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2086942970 https://www.espn.com/espnw/voices/story/_/id/14999091/letter-legacy-alice-marble-venus-williams

Alice Marble's impact and connection. ]]> 2022-03-09 21:19:22 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2086942970 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2086965431 Finally, Althea was accepted to play at the national championships of the USLTA. Along with fifty-two other women, she was ecstatic. The date was set for August 28th and history was being made. ]]> 2022-03-09 21:38:21 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2086965431 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2110054031 On November 10, 1951, Bethune-Cookman College named that day Althea Gibson day. Her tennis matches had a major impact on the people around her. She was truly having a Jackie Robinson moment. 

Quote #8: "When Althea arrived in Dayton Beach, she was the star of a parade from Florida East Coast Railroad Station to the campus where she had lunch at Faith Hall" (75).]]> 2022-03-23 16:05:27 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2110054031 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2110230478 Althea was ranked ninth in the United States based on her match of 1951 in Forest Hill. She was now playing against Doris Hart, and had the game in her hands. However, she lost to Hart in the end. Althea held herself to high standards, and did not give herself a moment of pity. 

Quote #9: "'I have no excuse,'... 'I should have beaten her'" (76). ]]> 2022-03-23 17:33:56 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2110230478 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2110252351 While Althea was staying with Rosemary and her family, she was learning more about how to present herself to the media. During her stay, her and Will, who was Rosemary's brother, had grown to like each other. They would soon go on to marry in the future. 

Quote #10: "'I think he made Althea feel good about ehrself, and he filled her in on a lot of facts, because he read a lot'" (79).]]> 2022-03-23 17:45:06 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2110252351 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2110283116 Finally, at the French Open in 1957, Althea became the first black women to win a Grand Slam there. Everyone knew she had the potential all along, it was the confindence she was lacking. She was booming with happiness. ]]> 2022-03-23 18:01:06 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2110283116 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2118475718 On July 6, 1957, Althea finally won a Wimbledon singles title. Crying in triumph, she took hold of the twenty-eight-inch gold slaver from Queen Elizabeth II. This was a huge milestone and inspiration for women athletes. ]]> 2022-03-29 03:11:10 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2118475718 sidhuhar000 https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2118491342 Althea Gibson was a talented woman and an inspiration to many. She sang and produced an album in 1958, won barrier-breaking titles in (for example, Forest Hills), got an education while learning to play against unfair biases, joined the Ladies Professional Golf Association, acted, wrote a book, and did much more throughout her life. She continued to pass her knowledge to younger audiences, teaching tennis clinics and creating great players. She was a figure of excellence and perseverance and was truly born to win.]]> 2022-03-29 03:21:12 UTC https://padlet.com/sidhuhar000/2o2me3rnlczgy93m/wish/2118491342