[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 167 (Tuesday, November 18, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H11480-H11481]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 EXPRESSING SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT ALTHEA GIBSON BE RECOGNIZED FOR HER 
 GROUNDBREAKING ACHIEVEMENTS IN ATHLETICS AND HER COMMITMENT TO ENDING 
     RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AND PREJUDICE WITHIN THE WORLD OF SPORTS

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree 
to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 69) expressing the sense of 
Congress that Althea Gibson should be recognized for her ground 
breaking achievements in athletics and her commitment to ending racial 
discrimination and prejudice within the world of sports.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 69

       Whereas Althea Gibson was born on August 25, 1927, and 
     lived with her family in Harlem during the 1930's and 1940's;
       Whereas Althea Gibson was first introduced to tennis on the 
     Harlem River Tennis Courts and went on to dominate the all-
     black American Tennis Association tournaments throughout the 
     early 1940's, when racism and segregation prevented her from 
     participating in tournaments sponsored by the American Lawn 
     Tennis Association;
       Whereas Althea Gibson graduated from Florida A&M University 
     in 1953, and was an athletic instructor at the Lincoln 
     University in Jefferson City, Missouri;
       Whereas Althea Gibson was the first African-American 
     player, either male or female, to be allowed to enter the 
     Forrest Hills, New York, Championship in 1950, after her 
     talents and celebrity forced the American Lawn Tennis 
     Association to reevaluate its policy;
       Whereas Althea Gibson was the first African-American 
     invited to Wimbledon in 1951, eventually winning both the 
     women's singles and doubles in 1957, after which she was 
     greeted by New York City with a ticker tape parade;
       Whereas Althea Gibson was the first African-American woman 
     to win the championship at the French Open, in 1956;
       Whereas Althea Gibson after finishing her amateur tennis 
     career became a professional golfer in 1959 and won the 
     women's tennis professional singles in 1960;
       Whereas Althea Gibson was Athletic Commissioner for the 
     State of New Jersey from 1975 to 1977; and
       Whereas Althea Gibson was inducted into the International 
     Tennis Hall of Fame in 1971, and to the International Women's 
     Sports Hall of Fame in 1980: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that Althea 
     Gibson should be recognized for her ground breaking athletic 
     achievements and for continuing to serve as a role model for 
     the Nation's youth.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen).


                             General Leave

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks on H. Con. Res. 69, the concurrent resolution now under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, House Concurrent Resolution 69 celebrates the remarkable 
life of Althea Gibson. She was the first African American player to 
compete at Wimbledon and the U.S. championships. She ultimately won 
both titles in 1957 and 1958, becoming the first African American to 
win both tournaments.
  Mr. Speaker, more important than her victories has been her presence 
at these tournaments at which black players had never before competed. 
She is rightfully known as the ``Jackie Robinson of women's tennis,'' 
and her courage has had the same incredible impact on her sport that 
Jackie Robinson had on baseball.
  As a young woman, she won 10 straight of the all-black American 
Tennis Association tournaments beginning in 1948. Her success led her 
to become quite a celebrity, and the public pressure finally forced the 
all-white American Lawn Tennis Association to invite her to compete at 
the U.S. championships in 1950. By the next year, in 1951, Wimbledon 
invited her to play. Well, not only did she play, Mr. Speaker, but she 
won both tournaments in 1957, and she won both again the next year. Her 
skill on the court and her class off the court during this difficult 
period in American history paved the way for future stars like Serena 
Williams, Venus Williams, James Blake, Zina Garrison, Arthur Ashe, and 
others to excel playing the game they love.
  Mr. Speaker, this is truly a worthwhile resolution, and I commend the 
gentleman from New York for working with the Committee on Government 
Reform for bringing this resolution to the floor. I hope this 
resolution serves to honor Althea Gibson, for, as the resolution 
states, her groundbreaking athletic achievements, and for continuing to 
serve as a role model for the Nation's youth. Althea Gibson's athletic 
career and her courageous personality are vital threads in the fabric 
of our Nation's history, and I am pleased that the House is acting on 
this resolution that pays tribute to her tonight.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, Althea Gibson overcame unbelievable odds to achieve 
international acclaim and success. Her journey from Harlem to Wimbledon 
reveals her strength of character and her

[[Page H11481]]

remarkable composure in the face of racial prejudice. She built the 
foundation on which Venus and Serena Williams and Tiger Woods now 
stand.
  The life of Althea Gibson is much more than a story about a 
successful tennis champion. It is a story about education, opportunity, 
hope, perseverance, and the responsibility we all have for helping 
those who are less fortunate than ourselves.
  Althea Gibson was born on August 25, 1927, in the small town of 
Silver, South Carolina. Her family moved to Harlem in New York City 
when she was 3. Her family was on welfare. She was a client of the 
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. She had trouble in 
school and was often truant. She ran away from home frequently.
  Tennis, which first came to the United States in the late 19th 
century, by the middle of the 20th Century had become part of a culture 
of health and fitness. Public programs brought tennis to children in 
poor neighborhoods, though those children could not dream of playing in 
the elite tennis clubs.
  Althea played paddle tennis in public recreation programs and became 
quite proficient. Musician Buddy Walker noticed her playing table 
tennis and took her to the Harlem River Tennis Courts, where she 
learned the game and excelled. By 1942, Gibson had won the girls' 
singles event at the American Tennis Association's New York State 
tournament, an all-black organization. She won again in 1944 and 1945.
  In 1946, two tennis-playing doctors who were active in the black 
tennis community, Hubert Eaton of North Carolina and Robert Johnson of 
Virginia, took in Althea Gibson, Eaton during the school year and 
Johnson during the summer. Gibson, who had dropped out of high school, 
was made to finish high school and eventually graduated from Florida 
A&M University in 1953.
  In 1950, when Gibson was 23 years old, she was permitted to play at 
the U.S. Nationals, becoming the first black to compete in the 
tournament. In 1956, Althea Gibson made history by becoming the first 
black person to win the French championships. The next year she made 
history by winning Wimbledon and the U.S. Nationals, the first black to 
win either. Althea won six out of a total of 11 Grand Slam events, 
including six doubles titles, on her way to the International Tennis 
Hall of Fame and the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame.
  Althea Gibson is quoted as saying, ``I always wanted to be somebody. 
If I made it, it's half because I was game enough to take a lot of 
punishment along the way and half because there were a lot of people 
who cared enough to help me.''
  Though Arthur Ashe and the Williams sisters have met their own 
challenges, Althea Gibson was the first black person of either sex to 
break the color barrier in national and international tournament tennis 
at a time when prejudice and racism were far more pervasive in society 
and in sports. Althea Gibson was not only somebody, she was someone 
special.
  So we celebrate the life of Althea Gibson by ensuring that our 
policies and laws lift up and assist the less fortunate among us so 
that they too may fulfill their dreams and their potential as Althea 
Gibson did. I commend the gentleman from New York for introducing this 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 69.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution was 
agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________