Althea Gibson had to deal with the discrimination of being a black woman trying to break into a sport that was lily white. Tennis was an openly segregated sport, and Gibson could only participate in leagues governed for blacks only. In 1950, Gibson would receive the opportunity to play in the U.S. Championships in New York, but not without humiliation.
Gibson was forced to undergo tests to confirm that she was a woman.
Another example of how whites of that day continued to humiliate blacks, who just wanted equal treatment. Gibson would compete for six years without winning a tournament. However, in 1957 she would win Wimbledon, becoming the first black, male or female, to do so.
Gibson would also integrate the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) in 1964; too far along in age to be competitive, she only played for four years.
Muhammad Ali may be the most beloved individual on a worldwide scale this side of Jesus Christ. The most charismatic athlete of our lifetime entered the American conscious as Cassius Marcellus Clay.
After winning a gold medal in the 1960 Rome Olympic Games, he returned to his native Louisville, Kentucky. There he was refused service at soda shops and any other place where integration exists today. Confused and hurt, Clay wondered how he could fight for a country that did not give him equal rights. The gold medal at this point seemed tarnished, and he tossed it into the river.
Following his stunning knockout of Sonny Liston on March 5, 1964, Clay confirmed rumors that he was joining the Nation of Islam. Joined by Malcolm X, Clay revealed that he would be known as Cassius X, which would later be changed to Muhammad Ali.
The fallout from this event was great; many wondered how the new young champion could associate himself with a "hate group." The answer was simple—once anyone becomes conscious of injustice of any kind, there is going to be resistance. Moreover, Ali was pushing back with a weapon far more powerful than his hands…his mouth:
“I ain’t got no quarrel with those Viet Cong; no Viet Cong ever called me nigger.”
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