Born into a sharecropping family in South Carolina, Althea Gibson (1927–2003) spent most of her formative years in Harlem, New York, where she was first introduced to the game of tennis as a teenager. At age 20, Gibson won the first of 10 straight titles at the national tournament of the American Tennis Association, the first African American sports association founded under segregation. Defying racist stereotypes, she proved that African Americans could comport themselves—and excel—in the most exclusive, elite spaces in society. Despite success in the early 1950s, Gibson wasn’t selected to represent the United States in the Wightman Cup tournament until 1957, by which time she had already won two of her five grand slam titles: the 1956 French Nationals championship and the 1957 Wimbledon title. More than a decade later, she was named New Jersey’s commissioner of athletics, becoming the first woman to head a state’s athletic commission.
Photograph of Althea Gibson
Object Details
- Date
- 1959
- Created by
- Wallace Seawell, American, 1916 - 2007
- Subject of
- Althea Gibson, American, 1927 - 2003
- Description
- In this black-and-white photograph, Althea Gibson poses on a stool with two tennis rackets. Both the rackets have dark colors printed with "Althea Gibson" in white letters.
- Topic
- African American
- Athletes
- Photography
- Sports
- Tennis
- See more items in
- National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
- Classification
- Media Arts-Photography
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Data Source
- National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2009.27.1.3
- Type
- gelatin silver prints
- portraits
- Restrictions & Rights
- Unknown - Restrictions Possible
- Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
- Medium
- silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
- Dimensions
- 10 1/8 x 8 1/16 in. (25.7 x 20.5 cm)
- Metadata Usage
- CC0
- Record ID
- nmaahc_2009.27.1.3