Althea Gibson’s journey from poverty to becoming the first black person to win Wimbledon is the epitome of the American dream, but she remains shamefully unknown, said the English playwright and actor who is playing her on stage.
Kemi-Bo Jacobs has tried to rectify that by writing and starring in a play, All White Everything But Me, which is showing at the Alphabetti Theatre in Newcastle, England.
Jacobs has eschewed the rigid biographical route, preferring to highlight Gibson’s struggles, the barriers she faced and her extraordinary success.
Photo: AFP
Her victories at Wimbledon in 1957 and 1958, the French Open in 1956 and the US Open in 1957 and 1958 came at a time when, as Billie Jean King said, everything down to the balls in tennis was white and segregation was still in force in many US states.
“In many ways her story was that of the American Dream, from rags to riches,” Jacobs said in a telephone interview.
“The daughter of a family of sharecroppers went to shaking hands with Queen Elizabeth II when she won Wimbledon,” she said. “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.”
Jacobs’ desire to look more closely at Gibson was sparked by a showing of a documentary on her life in London being canceled due to a lack of interest.
“That infuriated me as I felt her voice was being silenced,” Jacobs said. “Fundamentally I am asking the question why she is not remembered and who decides history, as in who is erased, and who is remembered and celebrated.”
“I hope with this story I am encouraging people to think about those things,” she added.
While history might not have treated Gibson kindly, it was hardly better when she was in her heyday.
She did not receive the endorsements that the players she beat in the Grand Slam finals did, and at times, she would win a point and be greeted by silence or be racially abused, Jacobs said.
It was no easier with her fellow African Americans and the media, because she did not speak up about racial issues unlike Jackie Robinson, the first black person to play MLB in the modern era.
“She did not feel comfortable doing so,” Jacobs said. “Jackie Robinson received death threats, which understandably would make her think twice about speaking out. Due to that, African Americans were unkind to her, and called 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,” Jacobs said.
After retiring from tennis in an era when only amateurs could play in the major tournaments, Gibson became the first black woman to play on the professional golf tour. She then dipped into acting and released an album.
Jacobs said the play is not all about the dark days, it is also a celebration of a remarkable life — although she looks forward to a time when it is not necessary to add that someone is the first black person to achieve something.
“That is a consequence of racism,” she said. “We would not be having this conversation if racism had not been there and prevented equality.”
Jacobs said Gibson was very definitely of that mind, too.
“She never liked being called a black tennis player, she said: ‘I am a tennis player,’” Jacobs said.
“If you are a different gender or ethnicity there comes with that a burden of responsibility and you are seen as a spokesperson for that community. Althea really did not want that. She just wanted to play and for her achievements to speak for themselves,” she said. “Being visible was enough and I think that is OK.”
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