In Memory of Althea Gibson, the American Tennis Association is alive and well

survivor001

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Althea Gibson someone who lived in a time that I imagine most African Americans of color currently could not imagine back in the 1940's. Yet, though all of the social mental challenges she endured, Althea survived with help of people who were true friends and had the means to help her succeed against the elements of racism and bigotry in particular. Althea a maverick who went from playing pool and fighting to survive to becoming a world class tennis player, and who also used bigotry to make her stronger at defeating her enemies in the tennis court. God bless the memory of Althea Gibson.

The American Tennis Association (ATA) is based in Largo, Maryland, suburban Washington, D.C. and is the oldest African-American sports organization in the United States.[2] The core of the ATA's modern mission continues to be promoting tennis as a sport for black people and developing junior tennis players, but the ATA welcomes people of all backgrounds.

Since 2013, the ATA has been negotiating with the city of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and Broward County to build a national training center and home for the Black Tennis Hall of Fame. The city and county were selected due to the preeminence of Sistrunk Boulevard, a historically black neighborhood. The interior of the Hall of Fame is slated to be designed by Grand Slam Champion."

source: Wikipedia
 
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