Althea Gibson : The First African American

Anthony Overton was born on March 21, 1865, he was the first African American to lead a major business conglomerate as a banker, lawyer and a manufacturer. In 1898 he established Hygienic Manufacturing Company, and produced a number of goods including the nationally known High Brown Face Power, which was the first marketing success in the sale of cosmetics for black women. in 1923 he established the Douglass National Bank, the second nationally charted black owned bank in the United States. Overton developed the Great Northern Reality Company, the Chicago Bee, and the Victory Life Insurance Company. in 1927 the NAACP awarded him the Spingarn Medal for Outstanding Achievement by an African American,and in that same year he was given the prestigious

First and for most, both women were determined to reach for their goals, even if their race and gender held them down. Althea Gibson, instead of giving up knowing that she will never enter one of the world-wide tennis tournaments she kept trying. Raised in Harlem, New York she still trained and soon won many tennis titles and was the first African-American woman in a woman's tennis league. Within the article "Althea Gibson" written by Vitor Paiva it states, "Althea Gibson blazed a new trail in the sport of tennis, winning some of the sport's biggest titles in the 1950's and

To auspicate, Althea Gibson and Barbara C. Jordan were two African American women that were brave enough to surpass their odds and do what many other thought they couldn't. Both of these woman were African American which meant that they both weren't able to do things the whites could have done easily. Althea Gibson was the first African American woman to play tennis at a high level. Barbara C. Jordan was the first African American woman to be elected to the

People pretend it doesn’t exist, but racism is still here and much alive.  Tennis prides itself on being innovators. That’s why tennis awards equal prize money, television and media coverage to both male and female tennis players. The fact remains that tennis wouldn’t be true innovators until it stops racism. Serena and Venus William’s two African American sisters began tennis when they were young and soon started having massive success. The success the two sisters had brought inspiration and influenced other young African Americans to join the game.

Althea Gibson played the sport tennis and she Is the one who made the game tennis. They both wanted to be something In life. Barbara Jordan wanted to be a professor. When Althea was a child, she struggle and she loved to play sports. Althea was Inducted Into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1971, later she served as and Commissioner of Athletics for the state of New Jersey. Jordan she had suffered from multiple sclerosis since 1973 and she was In a wheelchair bound by the time she was Invited to give her second Democratic Convention Keynote Address In 1992. Also they both achieve something that they wanted In life so If they can do It you can do

Dorothy Dandridge may seem to be like a beautiful and strong African American woman on the outside, but on the inside she held in a lot of pain. Dorothy Dandridge is an actress, singer, and entertainer, who no longer walk this green Earth, but when she did, she made history. Dorothy was the first African American actress to achieve a leading-role status. Dorothy also had a deeply troubled life and racism didn’t make her life any easier especially when it came to achieving her dreams, but she got through it and during her time, the early 1930’s through the 1960’s, that was saying something. Racism was a lot worse then what it is now, but it made it harder for African Americans to achieve their goals, especially African American women. Dorothy was very worth looking up to now and when she was alive. Dorothy Dandridge is a contribution to African American history because she was the first African American woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for best actress, how she fought all odds against her, mainly racism, and she made it possible to for other African American women to follow in her footsteps and look up to her as a role model.

Althea Gibson was an African American woman born August 25, 1957 in Silver, North Carolina. She attended Florida Agricultural and Mechanical School and later Lincoln University as an athletic instructor. In her early life she moved to Harlem, New York, New York because of the Great Depression. She was also increased in basketball and paddle tennis. She quickly became good at tennis and people stared o notice, so Robert Walter Johnson coached, mentored, and sponsored her. She went on to win 11 Grand Slam titles, cementing her legacy, was the first black woman to play professional tennis, and on top of that she broke he racial barrier in tennis. She also played tennis, played he saxophone, and wrote an autobiography called “I Always wanted to

being one of the first African-Americans to play on the United States Davis Cup team (“Life Story - Arthur Ashe, para. 3, 15). Arthur Ashe became an official professional tennis player in 1970, and his criticisms of South Africa’s racial policy lead to him being banned from the South Africa open tournament, leading to South Africa’s exclusion in the 1970 Davis Cup. (The

Have you ever wondered about how women now have their own sports or how they became accepted? Well, it all started with women who had perseverance and a dream, even if they didn't get recognized for it. ***(Marcenia Lyle was an incredible baseball player and impacted the game tremendously by never giving up on her dream, being a woman playing in a men’s league, and by changing the normal way of sports.)***

Althea Gibson was born in 1927 in South Carolina to two sharecroppers on a cotton farm. Her family later during the Great depression moved to Harlem. With the support of her neighbors for money, she received lessons at the Cosmopolitan Tennis Club and in 1941, she won the ATA national championship in the girls division (Trong).Althea gibson was a great influence and role model for African Americans by being the first African American to win as many championships as she did , showing what African Americans could accomplish in tennis, and opening doors for African Americans . Althea Gibson influenced African Americans by being the being the first African American to win as many championships as she did.

Althea Gibson was born during 1927 in Silver, South Carolina as the daughter of sharecroppers born and raised in Harlem. By all accounts, she was a troubled school student and frequently ran away from home. She did, however, have a passion for horsemanship,

Marcenia Stone, was born on July 17, 1921, in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She is famous for being the first African American woman to play professional baseball on all men 's teams. She was a tomboy when she was growing up so she was given the nickname ‘Toni’ because it sounded like tomboy. She went to Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but dropped out when she was 16 because she needed to make money for herself and her family. Stone’s mother was a beautician and her father was a barber. She also had an older sister.The manner

Throughout the years, sports have become a major part of society. Sports, a large percentage of the time, are a part of peoples’ lives in one way or another. Whether they participate in them or just enjoy watching them, sports are a big deal to the majority of people. There are also some individuals who have redefined the expectations when it comes to certain sports. For instance, Babe Ruth redefined the way people think about baseball, or Michael Jordan completely changing the game of basketball. But Joe Louis and Venus and Serena Williams have changed their games in a way no one could have imagined. Although “Champion of the World” by Maya Angelou and “Woman Who Hit Very Hard and How They’ve Changed Tennis” by Michael Kimmelman are different, they are similar in the ways they show how the respected athletes, Joe Louis and the Williams sisters, changed the game and were seen using symbolism in racial and sexual progression.

Serena Williams is the number one women’s tennis player in the world. Her outstanding skills have earned her 50 million dollars through just prizes; that is more than any other athlete in the world (“Serena Williams Fast Facts”). Her fast reflexes, amazing skills, and outgoing personality have made her known as a powerful woman and an inspiration to many young girls. This African-American woman is almost six feet tall and is made of steel. With her long, muscular legs and her quick arms, no wonder she is number one!

One of the biggest things that she pushed for in her career was equal pay for men and women in sports. This was a struggle for her as she had trouble paying for her tennis. In the early days of her playing she was not allowed in the picture of her first tennis club because she was not wearing the proper tennis skirt, but instead had on shorts. Her family did not have a lot of extra money to put into her expensive tennis career and it was hard for them to afford the elitists sport. She along with other women had to stand up and risk being band from the tennis league when they signed one dollar contracts with the Virginia Slims to bring attention to the struggle for equal play. It became apparent to Billy even from the young age that she was when she was not allowed in the picture because of her attire that women where not