Welcome to Broadway Stages’ Spotlight, where we feature local shops, restaurants, organizations, individuals, and venues. March is women’s History Month. Throughout the month, Broadway Stages will feature and celebrate exceptional women who have made a mark and those who continue to make a difference in the story of our future. This week Broadway Stages celebrates a woman who overcame gender and race barriers and came out on top of the tennis world, the great Althea Gibson.

Even today, the world can be inhospitable toward women, especially women of color. While challenges remain today, they were tenfold in the middle of the last century. But it was in that environment that Althea Gibson rose to greatness.

Know best as groundbreaking tennis player of the 1950s, Gibson was one of the first black athletes to compete internationally. In 1956, she was the first African-American (of any gender) to win a Grand Slam title, the French Open (today called the Roland-Garros Tournament). Establishing her dominance, she went on to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Nationals (now known as the U.S. Open) in both 1957 and 1958. In a time when respect was hard-earned for minorities, Gibson was voted Female Athlete of the Year in both 1957 and 1958. Now that is something to celebrate! 

By the end of her tennis career, Gibson had gathered 11 Grand Slam tournament wins. They included five singles titles, five doubles titles, and one mixed doubles title. Today, Gibson is enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame.

Bob Ryland, former coach of both Venus and Serena Williams, has said that Gibson would be competitive against any of the great women players in tennis history. “She is one of the greatest players who ever lived. Martina [Navratilova] couldn’t touch her. I think she’d beat the Williams sisters.”

The trail she blazed is even more impressive when you consider where it started. She was born in a small rural town in South Carolina in 1927. Her parents worked as sharecroppers on a cotton farm but moved to Harlem in 1930 after the depression took its toll on their livelihood. As you can imagine, life in New York was not easy. At 13 years old, her father’s violent temper drove her to drop out of school and, at one point, spend time living in a shelter for abused children.

But she found a calling and support through her athletic pursuits. As a child, the Police Athletic League opened the door to tennis for her. Later, neighbors chipped in to pay for a membership to the Cosmopolitan Club in Harlem. And then, the patronage of a wealthy doctor made it possible for her to compete in the United States Lawn Tennis Association (later becoming the United States Tennis Association).

Althea Gibson’s life left her with a work ethic and tenacity that did not end with tennis. She also competed professionally in the Ladies Professional Golf Association. But she faced many obstacles here. She faced gross discrimination at many courses in both the North and the South. World Golf Hall of Fame member Judy Rankin said, “She came along during a difficult time in golf, gained the support of a lot of people, and quietly made a difference.”

Later in life, Gibson continued paving the way for other women. In the 1970s, she was the director of women’s sports and recreation for the county parks in Essex County, New Jersey. And in 1976, she was appointed New Jersey’s Athletic Commissioner. Sadly though, she resigned the following year. She felt she was denied independence, budget control, and adequate funding. However, she went on to serve on the State Athletic Control Board and as the Supervisor of the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

It is easy to think of Althea Gibson’s legacy as that of a great tennis player. But the true legacy of Althea Gibson is that of a fighter with great tenacity and reslolve. We pay tribute to Ms. Gibson and thank her for the many opportunities she created for women today.