Amanda's+History+Month+Project

Althea Gibson


Purpose: Were You Came From Doesn't Always Tell Were You Will End

Info- Lived In Harlem Was Poor And On Welfare She Was The First African American T o Win Championships At Grand Slam Tournaments Like Wimbledon, the French Open, the Australian Doubles and the United States Open She Won 56 Singles And Doubles Titles In The 1950's Before She Became National In The 1950's It Was Still Not Equal Rights

=Story Board=


 * = **Images** ||= **Purpose: Were You Came From Doesn't Always Tell Were You Will End** ||= **The mean and cruel way African Americans Were Treated** ||
 * < [[image:http://www.stud.u-szeged.hu/Borthaiser.Nora/harlem.jpg width="292" height="250"]] ||< Were Her Story Began ||< Was Born on August 25, 1927 in South Carolina.She grew up in Harlem. Her family was poor and on welfare. ||
 * < [[image:http://tbn0.google.com/hosted/images/c?q=d866873e7bac57a4_landing width="286" height="420"]] ||< Did she do tennis from the start? ||< Musician Buddy Walker saw her playing table tennis one day and thought that see might be good at tennis. He brought her to the Harlem River Tennis Courts. ||
 * < 3[[image:http://pro.corbis.com/images/RZ001340.jpg?size=67&uid=%7B7DAA2C48-A8B2-40B9-87E4-C06E4E19D5E0%7D width="205" height="285"]] ||< How did she learn to play? ||< She quit high school and joined the American Tennis Association, which was almost all black. In here community there was a african american tennis program. She come to the attention on Dr. Walter Johnson, a Lynchburg VA physician who was active in the community. He tought her how to play tennis. Contacts were made with the USTA to put her into the "tennis scene". ||
 * < 4[[image:http://www.blackfives.com/blog_pics/washington_gibson_etc.jpg]] ||< Going down South ||< She went down to the south and switched of with the docotrs staying with one in the summer and one in the winter. They help here with her tennis and also with school. She went back to school for her last 3 years and graduated. ||
 * < 5[[image:http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_F4KZjiTUwP0/Rcjjr6MF0MI/AAAAAAAABvM/Un3LjQxt8FE/s400/althea8.jpg]] ||< Becoming Stronger ||< She was finally invited into the tournement. She won against her first match but the second didn't go so well. It took her time to be able to come against the stronger. She was still being unwelcomed to some clubs were tournements were being held. ||
 * < 6 [[image:http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_F4KZjiTUwP0/RcjhoaMF0EI/AAAAAAAABto/NPbjdAPwtvg/s400/althea.jpg]] ||< Her First HUGE Win ||< In 1956 she won the French championships. This was her only appearnce at the Frech. She teamed up with english woman Angela Buxton to win the French as well as Wimbledon. That year she also won in singels at the Italian, the Pacific Southwest, New South Wales, Pan American, South Australian and the Asian title in Ceylon. She was gaining control an was winning more and more. ||
 * < 7 [[image:http://www.arbeitssprache-englisch.com/history/african_americans/black_waiting_room.jpg width="419" height="360"]] ||< The Bad Side ||< Even when she was winning all of these she still not able to get rooms at hotels. They refused to book a lunch in her honor of her but she said she didn't care. "I tried to feel responsibilities to blacks, but that was a burden on my shoulders," she said once. "Now I'm playing tennis to please me, not them." ||
 * < 8[[image:http://pro.corbis.com/images/BE053163.jpg?size=67&uid=%7B93635398-578A-468B-959B-6144FA81F8CE%7D width="493" height="391"]] ||< Pleasing Herself and Others ||< In 1958 she pleased blacks and her. She won against Mortimer for the Wimbledon. And thenwon the U.S. title. Again for the 3rd time she won Wimbledom in the doubles with Maria Bueno. In 1957 she was voted buy the Associated Press for its Female Athlete of the Year. She won that honor again in 1958. ||
 * < 9[[image:http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_F4KZjiTUwP0/RcjjZaMF0KI/AAAAAAAABu0/-4n1OfZGqLE/s400/althea10.jpg]] ||< Trying something else out ||< She soon turned professional. Back then there wasn't a tour for the professionals. So she went on to play golf for a few years. When open tennis started in 1968 she did some of the events. By now she was in her 40's and could not beat the younger players. When realizing this she become a pro. tennis teacher.

Time: 21 seconds ||
 * < 10 [[image:http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aXwvjOCyM24/RtHpfPs6tQI/AAAAAAAABI0/YB2Ypuyqmxg/s400/Althea+Gibson+2.jpg]] ||< Were Her Story Ends? ||< She had turned into a recluse. They have said that she was suffering in silence for strokes etc. She died in September 27, 2003. She was 76. She had been ill for years. She passed away in the hospital becuase of respiratory failure.

Althea shows us that you can be who you want to be.

You might be nobody but you can become that somebody. You can become what you what you want. Have the strenght to do that. Sometimes you might need to stretch but in your end make sure you are happy of what you have done.

Time: 36 seconds ||

Music- Heartland []

Websites- http://womenshistory.about.com/od/gibsonalthea/a/althea_gibson.htm http://www.altheagibson.com/biographical.htm []