[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 148 (Tuesday, October 2, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2044]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCING A RESOLUTION TO HONOR THE 50TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF ALTHEA 
 GIBSON BECOMING THE FIRST PERSON OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ANCESTRY TO WIN 
                  THE U.S. CHAMPIONSHIP AND WIMBLEDON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 2, 2007

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce 
legislation to honor the 50th anniversary of Ms. Althea Gibson becoming 
the first African American to win the U.S. Championship and Wimbledon. 
Her accomplishments signified a change in our Nation's climate in which 
racial discrimination was challenged on the tennis court and in the 
Supreme Court. The 50th anniversary of Althea Gibson's victory at the 
U.S. Championship and Wimbledon is worthy of congressional recognition, 
and I urge my colleagues to join me in commemorating an extraordinary 
woman, and an extraordinary chapter in U.S. history.
  The eldest daughter of sharecroppers who moved from South Carolina to 
Harlem during the Depression, Althea Gibson was born on August 25, 1927 
in Silver, South Carolina. She had one primary desire: to be somebody. 
Thirty years later, Queen Elizabeth II presented her with the 
Championship trophy at Wimbledon, and Vice President Richard Nixon 
presented Althea Gibson with the United States Championship trophy at 
Forest Hills. By the end of her career, she won nearly 100 awards for 
tennis, and defeated men and women on nearly every continent in a sport 
that was historically restricted from people of her race and class. 
Althea Gibson was accurate when she declared that she had come ``a long 
way from being forced to sit in the colored section of the bus.'' In an 
era of gender and racial discrimination, this African American woman 
was an international celebrity and a symbol of excellence and 
determination in the early years of the Civil Rights Movement.
  Madam Speaker, Althea Gibson defied prejudiced conceptions of female 
and African American athletes from the time she played racket ball in 
the streets of Harlem until the time she competed in the world's most 
prestigious competitions. Her undeniable talent not only moved people 
across lines of race and class to support Gibson in her relentless 
desire to succeed, but also moved people to change the rules that 
maintained systems of inequality. In 1949, she attended my alma mater, 
Florida A&M University, on a full athletic scholarship due to the 
guidance and support of a New York doctor and his wife. Gibson received 
what the vast majority of African American women could not: an 
education. As white and black high profile athletes endorsed Gibson, 
people began to question if integration was an inevitable occurrence 
that would benefit tennis as it had benefited basketball, football, 
baseball. On August 28, 1950, the face and rules of tennis changed, and 
Althea Gibson became the first African American to compete at the 
National Open.

  Madam Speaker, Althea Gibson's great triumphs did not come without 
great peril and adversity. Although she was hailed as the Queen of 
Tennis, racial prejudice excluded her from lodging in the hotels that 
surrounded the arenas where she competed and defended her crown. 
Refusing to let prejudice, poverty, or consistent threats against her 
life compromise her drive to succeed, Gibson fought prejudice when she 
won on tennis courts that were previously segregated. An actress, 
musician, teacher and athlete, Althea Gibson was the quintessential 
Renaissance woman who refused to compromise her dignity and the dignity 
of her people on or off the court.
  Althea Gibson continued to be a woman of firsts in the years that 
followed her tennis career. During the same year as the enactment of 
the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Althea Gibson became the first African 
American member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association. In 1971 
Althea Gibson was the first African American to be inducted into the 
International Tennis Hall of Fame--the only African American woman of 
the 200 athletes who have received this honor in its 52 year history. 
Twenty years later, Althea Gibson became the first woman to receive the 
Theodore Roosevelt Award in 1991, the highest honor awarded by the 
National Collegiate Athletic Association for ``symbolizing the best 
qualities of competitive excellence and good sportsmanship, and for her 
significant contribution to expanding opportunities for women and 
minorities through sports.''
  Madam Speaker, 4 years after her death, and 50 years after her win at 
the U.S. Championship and Wimbledon, Althea Gibson continues to be a 
universal example of strength and excellence. The Althea Gibson 
Foundation was established to support underprivileged youth in their 
drive to succeed in golf, tennis, and the classroom, and to ensure that 
Althea Gibson's legacy of excellence, tenacity, and dedication lives 
on. Her life affirms what many of us already know: Great athletes have 
the ability to unify and inspire beyond the realm of sports.
  Althea Gibson famously said ``In the field of sports you are more or 
less accepted for what you do rather than what you are.'' In a world 
plagued by poverty, segregation and racial prejudice, Althea Gibson saw 
sports as the epitome of what our country should be--a true 
meritocracy. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this resolution to 
preserve the memory of Althea Gibson and other athletes who were 
pioneers in their time and inspirations for future generations.

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