[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 23847]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                COMMEMORATING THE LIFE OF ALTHEA GIBSON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald) is recognized for 
5 minutes.
  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mad-
am Speaker, tonight I am introducing a resolution to commemorate the 
life of the very talented Althea Gibson. Miss Althea Gibson represents 
an honorable and indelible mark on the history of America and the 
history of African Americans.
  On this day, we seek to commemorate the life and achievements of 
Althea Gibson, a pioneer who left an unforgettable mark on sports as 
she broke the color barrier in tennis in America in the 1950s and 
helped pave the way for future generations of black athletes.
  On Sunday, September 28, Miss Gibson died at the age of 76. Though 
the general public had largely forgotten her name in sports, Althea 
Gibson will always be a giant in sports history. The eldest of five 
children, Miss Gibson was raised in the Harlem section of New York 
City. She began studying tennis privately through the support of 
friends while furthering her education by attending Florida A&M 
University where she graduated in 1953.
  Althea Gibson was the first black player on the Ladies Professional 
Golfers Association tour. She was a self-described born athlete who 
broke racial barriers not only in tennis but also in the Ladies 
Professional Golf Association. In a capstone to her career, she toured 
with the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team after retiring from 
tennis.
  Miss Gibson won the American Tennis Association's Women's Singles 
Tournament 10 years in a row. However, tennis tournaments outside the 
ATA remained closed to her until 1950. In that year, white tennis 
player Alice Marble wrote an article in American Lawn Tennis magazine, 
noting that this excellent player was not able to participate in the 
better-known championships for no other reason that bigotry.
  So later that year, Althea Gibson entered the Forest Hills, New York, 
national grass court championship, the first African American player of 
either sex to be allowed to enter. In 1950, Gibson became the first 
black player to compete in the U.S. tennis championships, and she 
played at Wimbledon in 1951. She captured the Wimbledon and U.S. 
championships in 1957 and 1958, and also won the French Open, and three 
Wimbledon doubles titles from 1956 through 1958. Her presence helped 
pave the way for later stars, such as Arthur Ashe, Venus and Serena 
Williams, and, of course, Tiger Woods.
  On this day, let us all commemorate Miss Althea Gibson's fighting 
spirit and championship efforts. Miss Gibson came from the depths of 
racism and overcame much adversity. She proved as much as anyone that 
desire can beat the burdens of racism.
  In closing, I would like to end with a quote from Miss Gibson: ``In 
sports, you simply aren't considered a real champion until you have 
defended your title successfully. Winning it once can be a fluke; 
winning it twice proves you are the best.'' Today, we would like to 
commemorate Althea Gibson, truly one of the best.

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