Althea Gibson 1957 @ Wimbledon
Serena & Venus were not the first, nor was Arthur Ashe. There came one before them, her story almost impossible believe. They each stand on the broad shoulders of a great sporting legend called Althea Gibson. Gibson paved the way for sports stars like them to succeed; She broke through the race and gender barriers of her time to achieve the impossible. More impossible is the fact that today, so few people know who Althea Gibson was and what she accomplished in her lifetime.
In 1957 Althea Gibson made history by becoming the first ever Black person to win Wimbledon. While Queen Elizabeth II, crowned her Women's Singles champion, African Americans were been forced to sit at the back of the bus in an America that was still a decade away from the Civil Rights Act and the walk on Selma. In 2015 we discovered her and now speak her name and share her story to as many people and places as we can. We're creating a piece of work inspired by her story. Join us in speaking her name.