Serving Herself: the Life and Times of Althea Gibson

Timed for the tennis and golf seasons, Professor Ashley Brown, author of Serving Herself: The Life and Times of Althea Gibson, will give a lecture and book reading devoted to Althea Gibson’s rise and legacy in the two sports through which this trailblazer challenged segregation and impacted women’s history. In 1957 and 1958, Gibson (1927-2003) won Wimbledon and the U.S. National Tennis Championships at Forest Hills, the forerunner of today’s U.S. Open. These unprecedented victories assured Gibson’s induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1971. Gibson’s path to tennis immortality led her from the American South to Harlem, Southeast Asia, France, Germany, Italy, and our very own Midwest.

Professor Brown is the Allan H. Selig Chair in the History of Sport and Society at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her book won the United States Golf Association Herbert Warren Wind Book Award for 2023.

Registration is not required for this program, but please register below if you would like an email reminder.