#grandsllam

[usnatarchives]

1958 US Nat'l Championship NY. USIA records, NARA ID 58260.

#OTD 1957: Althea Gibson Wins Wimbledon! 1st Black Tennis Player to win a Grand Slam! By Miriam Kleiman, Public Affairs

See DocsTeach: Althea Gibson Wins the US Nat'l Championships.

Gibson, L, on the Wheaties box in 2001. Serena Williams, R, in 2019.

"In 2001, Wheaties paid homage to a true champion and an icon by putting her on the cover of a Wheaties Box. Althea Gibson was the FIRST Black Woman tennis player to be on the box. Today, I am honored to be the second."

"I have dreamt of this since I was a young woman and it’s an honor to join the ranks of some of America’s most decorated athletes. I hope my image on this iconic orange box will inspire the next generation of girls and athletes to dream big." ---Serena Williams.

From Harlem, Gibson became a champion of the very segregated sport of tennis. She was the first Black tennis player to compete and win at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Nationals (Arthur Ashe was the first Black man to win at Wimbledon 8 years later, in 1975).

#BLM #black women #african american history #tennis #wimbledon #althea gibson #blackgirlmagic #herstory #black lives matter #civil rights #womenshistory #tennishalloffame #grandsllam #sporthistory #women in sports #blackwomen #blackgirlsrock #archivesblackeducation #Youtube #docsteach #serena williams #wheaties