Althea Gibson’s journey from poverty to turning into the first black individual to win Wimbledon is the fulfilment of the American Dream however she stays shamefully unknown, the English playwright and actor who’s taking part in her on stage instructed AFP.
Kemi-Bo Jacobs has tried to rectify that by writing and starring in a play, All White Everything But Me, which is presently on at the Alphabetti Theatre in Newcastle, northeast England.
Jacobs has eschewed the inflexible biographical route, preferring to spotlight Gibson’s struggles, the boundaries she confronted and her extraordinary success.
Her victories at Wimbledon in 1957 and 1958, the French Open (1956) and US Open (1957 and 1958) got here at a time when, as Billie Jean King put it, the whole lot all the way down to the balls in tennis was white and segregation was nonetheless in pressure in lots of US states.
“In many ways her story was that of the American Dream, from rags to riches,”
Jacobs mentioned in a cellphone interview.
ALSO READ: R. Kelly: ‘I believe I can fly’ artist faces sentencing over intercourse crimes case
ALTHEA GIBSON, THE FIRST BLACK PERSON TO WIN WIMBLEDON
“The daughter of a household of sharecroppers went to shaking fingers with Queen Elizabeth II when she gained Wimbledon.
“Her journey is a universal story of her being blessed with incredible talent to finding her way in a world that does not see her as being equal or granting opportunities that her talent deserves.”
Her need to look extra intently at Gibson was sparked by a exhibiting of a documentary on her life in London being cancelled on account of a scarcity of curiosity.
“That infuriated me as I felt her voice was being silenced,”
mentioned Jacobs.
“Fundamentally I’m asking the query why she isn’t remembered and who decides historical past, as in who’s erased and who’s remembered and celebrated.
“I hope with this story I am encouraging people to think about those things.”
While historical past could not have handled Gibson kindly, it was hardly higher when she was in her heyday.
She didn’t obtain the endorsements in comparison with these gamers she beat in the Grand Slam finals and at instances she would win a degree and be greeted by silence or be racially abused, says Jacobs.
ALSO READ: Greece picks up 172 migrants in difficulty in Aegean
‘Breaking down boundaries’
It was no simpler together with her fellow African Americans and the media as a result of she didn’t communicate up about racial points not like Jackie Robinson, the first black individual to play Major League Baseball in the fashionable period.
“She did not feel comfortable doing so,”
mentioned Jacobs.
“Jackie Robinson obtained demise threats which understandably would make her assume twice about talking out. Due to that African Americans had been unkind to her and referred to as her uppity and ungrateful.
“The press wrote that when she lost at Forest Hills at the US Open the first time she played there aged 23, her performance was the biggest disappointment in tennis.”
After retiring from tennis in an period when solely amateurs might play in the main tournaments, Gibson grew to become the first black lady to play on the skilled golf tour. She then dipped into appearing and launched an album.
Jacobs says the play isn’t all about the darkish days, it’s also a celebration of a outstanding life — although she appears ahead to the time when it’s not obligatory so as to add that somebody is the first black individual to attain one thing.
“That is a consequence of racism,” she mentioned.
“We wouldn’t be having this dialog if racism had not been there and prevented equality.
“I look forward to the day to speaking about accomplishments and what they did rather than them breaking down barriers.”
Jacobs says Gibson was very positively of that thoughts too.
“She never liked being called a black tennis player, she said ‘I am a tennis player,’”
mentioned Jacobs.
“If you’re a totally different gender or ethnicity there comes with {that a} burden of duty and you might be seen as a spokesperson for that group.
“Althea actually didn’t need that. She simply wished to play and for her achievements to talk for themselves.
“Being visible was enough and I think that is OK.”
© Agence France-Presse
