08/25/2024
Althea Gibson, the first person of color -- female or male -- to win at Wimbledon, was born on this day in 1927. She also became the first champion to receive the trophy personally from Queen Elizabeth II. The South Carolina native later said, "Shaking hands with the queen of England was a long way from being forced to sit in the colored section of the bus." The prior year, in 1956, she had also become the first player of color to win a Grand Slam event, the French Open. Gibson, who was known as the "the Jackie Robinson of tennis" for breaking that sport's color barrier, collected 11 Grand Slam titles, including the U.S. Open. Althea Gibson was named the Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press in both 1957 and 1958.
To introduce children to this inspiring athlete and civil rights pioneer, we highly recommend the excellent picture books, "Nothing But Trouble: The Story of Althea Gibson" for ages 5 to 8 (https://www.amightygirl.com/nothing-but-trouble) and "Playing To Win: The Story Of Althea Gibson" for ages 6 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/playing-to-win)
For a wonderful picture book about girls and women breaking athletic records throughout history, we recommend "Girls With Guts!" for ages 6 to 9 at https://www.amightygirl.com/girls-with-guts
Gibson is also one of 50 trailblazing women in sports featured in the illustrated book, "Women in Sports: 50 Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win" at https://www.amightygirl.com/women-in-sports
For more books about courageous girls and women of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, check out our blog post on "50 Inspiring Books on Girls & Women of the Civil Rights Movement" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=11177
And for one of our favorite t-shirts for sports-loving Mighty Girls -- young and old -- that proudly states "I'm not strong for a girl. I'm just strong.", visit https://www.amightygirl.com/strong-t-shirt
