The United States in the early twentieth century harbored a patriarchal society where minorities were socially, politically and economically oppressed. Nationwide movements such as the Civil Rights Movement pushed for equal constitutional rights for all people regardless of race. The Women Suffrage Movement began in the 1848 with the Seneca Falls Convention orchestrated by Lucretia Motts and Elizabeth Cady Stanton to begin the conversation about equality among men and women. More than seventy years later, congress passed the 19th amendment in August of 1920. Although, this was a milestone for the women’s suffrage movement, women still faced oppression and subjected to social prejudice. Women are still obligated to proceed to fight for equality
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She graduates in 1953 from Florida A&M University. Three years later in 1956 she won The French open and became the first African American to win a tennis championship. In the following years, she became a member of the national tennis team and would go on to win the women’s single and double in Wimbledon (Lewis 2014). She retired from tennis 1958. Though her many achievements, she was limited because of her gender and race. Thought the time of her career, she was still confined by segregation. She had to over come the stereotypic outlook of woman and their capabilities. Althea Gibson overcomes the adversity by keeping the mentality that “I knew that I was an unusual, talented girl through the grace of God. I didn't need to prove that to myself. I only wanted to prove it to my opponents” (Lewis 2014 ). Her job was to prove to people that she was talented regardless of her ethnicity or gender. She was an inspiration to many of the people in the community. She made a path for people of color as well as women to participate in sports. Without Althea Gibson there would be no African Americans or women participating in professional tennis. Althea Gibson is remembered as the greatest women tennis player of all time and proved that someone’s ability to be influential does not depend on physical appearance but on
She graduates in 1953 from Florida A&M University. Three years later in 1956 she won The French open and became the first African American to win a tennis championship. In the following years, she became a member of the national tennis team and would go on to win the women’s single and double in Wimbledon (Lewis 2014). She retired from tennis 1958. Though her many achievements, she was limited because of her gender and race. Thought the time of her career, she was still confined by segregation. She had to over come the stereotypic outlook of woman and their capabilities. Althea Gibson overcomes the adversity by keeping the mentality that “I knew that I was an unusual, talented girl through the grace of God. I didn't need to prove that to myself. I only wanted to prove it to my opponents” (Lewis 2014 ). Her job was to prove to people that she was talented regardless of her ethnicity or gender. She was an inspiration to many of the people in the community. She made a path for people of color as well as women to participate in sports. Without Althea Gibson there would be no African Americans or women participating in professional tennis. Althea Gibson is remembered as the greatest women tennis player of all time and proved that someone’s ability to be influential does not depend on physical appearance but on