Say Her Name — Althea Gibson

Let’s be clear, before there was Serena, before there was Venus, before global sponsors, center court interviews and headline-making prize money there was Althea Gibson.

In 1957, Althea didn’t just win Wimbledon. She broke it.

She smashed through the country club walls of exclusion and served notice to a world that never expected a Black woman to hold a tennis racket, let alone a championship trophy.

This isn’t just Black history. This is American history. This is world history. But it’s also the kind of history they won’t put in your textbooks, the kind they won’t show in your highlight reels. That’s why we’re here to remind you, to reclaim the narrative and to honor our heroes the way they deserve to be honored.

Althea Gibson wasn’t just a champion on the court, she was a champion of dignity, of representation and of perseverance in a time when being Black and brilliant meant surviving with grace in the face of hostility. She had to win twice, once against her opponents and once against the system.

Let that sit with you!

Imagine standing on center court in front of thousands who had never seen someone like you in that space. Imagine walking into locker rooms where your presence was a protest. Althea didn’t just win matches she changed the game, without hashtags, without brand deals, without the protection of celebrity. Just talent. Tenacity. And a kind of quiet thunder that still echoes today.

Yet, where are her documentaries? Her billboards? Her mandatory school lessons?

Instead, we get edited timelines and erasure. Images You Won’t See on TV. That’s not by accident, it’s by design. Because when we know the shoulders we stand on, we walk taller. And when young Black girls see Althea with those trophies in her hand, they understand that excellence isn’t new to us, it’s in our bloodline.

So today, we say her name. Althea Gibson. Not as a footnote. Not as an exception. But as a foundation.

We drop hearts and hashtags, yes. But we also drop truth. We challenge the systems that hide our icons in the margins while glorifying mediocrity in the mainstream.

To every young athlete, scholar, dreamer reading this. Let Althea’s story be a reminder that being first is never easy. That blazing a trail means getting burned sometimes, but doing it anyway.

And to every institution that claims to champion diversity, start by teaching the names that paved the way.

This isn’t just a look back. It’s a call forward.

❤️ Drop a heart for Althea.

Share her story, loud, and unapologetically. Because when we know who we are, we move different.And when we move different, the world has no choice but to shift with us.