Pioneer Gets Street Named in Her Honor
Photo: Andrew Rosario NY Beacon
By Shara Talia Taylor
Tennis great Althea Gibson received a well-deserved acknowledgment last Thursday in Harlem, where she grew up.
West 143rd St. between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. and Malcolm X Blvd/Lenox avenue was renamed “Althea Gibson Way” in honor of the first Black tennis player to compete in the now U.S. Open and Wimbledon. The community came together to celebrate Gibson and unveil the new street name.
“It’s amazing,” said Don Felder, a second cousin of Gibson, who grew up on 148th St. on 8th Avenue.. “Keeping her legacy alive is my goal.”
Felder said Gibson was about 22 years older than him, but he remembers when she would speak at his junior high school in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn whenever asked. He said this type of community involvement was common for her. “After she retired from tennis, that’s what she did,” Felder said. “She coached and taught inner city youth tennis.”
West 143rd St. between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. and Malcolm X Blvd/Lenox avenue was renamed “Althea Gibson Way” in honor of the first Black tennis player to compete in the now U.S. Open and Wimbledon. The community came together to celebrate Gibson and unveil the new street name.
“It’s amazing,” said Don Felder, a second cousin of Gibson, who grew up on 148th St. on 8th Avenue.. “Keeping her legacy alive is my goal.”
Felder said Gibson was about 22 years older than him, but he remembers when she would speak at his junior high school in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn whenever asked. He said this type of community involvement was common for her. “After she retired from tennis, that’s what she did,” Felder said. “She coached and taught inner city youth tennis.”
Event organizer Glenn Gilliam who represents the film “Althea” directed by Rex Miller and has screenings to share about the life of Gibson, said Felder and a community effort made it all possible. He said the street naming was a culmination of three years of work that required petitions and signatures from residents and local businesses. “This is her birthday today, her 95th heavenly birthday,” he said. “That’s actually the date she played in her first US Open in 1950 so it’s a very special day on both ends.”
He said guest speakers included representatives from HBCUs, community politicians, the Manhattan Burrough President, Council woman Kristin Jordan, Bob Davis who played with Gibson, family and members of the Black Tennis Hall of fame. Gibson’s altruism and community impact was apparent Thursday as so many gathered in her honor to share her accolades and legacy will be remembered through the naming “Althea Gibson Way” .
