76 years ago today, Althea Gibson became the first black competitor in international tennis, after US officials, bowing to pressure, invited the 23-year-old to...
76 years ago today, Althea Gibson became the first black competitor in international tennis, after US officials, bowing to pressure, invited the 23-year-old to play in the National Championships (now the US Open). Born in South Carolina to sharecropper parents who moved to Harlem when Althea was 6, their neighbors took up a collection to pay for her tennis lessons. SEE her accomplishments in a short video... (1950)
