Plans are underway to train the next generation of tennis legends in Lynchburg. The Whirlwind Johnson Foundation held a community event on Thursday at the same court where Dr. Robert Walter "Whirlwind" Johnson trained children during the days of segregation. Whirlwind Johnson taught young African Americans...
Amid the brittle phone bills and medical records strewn on the floor of a family friend’s house, Randy Smith saw something on yellow cardstock that looked out of place. It was a baseball program, and Smith didn’t believe what he saw when he opened the folded...
The historic tennis courts at the home of Dr. Robert 'Whirlwind' Johnson was featured for local Lynchburg, VA youth sports players as one of the activities to choose from for their, Give Good Day of Serving this November. Many thanks to the local sports community...
Dr. Robert Johnson has been featured on C-SPAN's teacher aid site in the Bellringer section. See the preamble and sample questions below: In addition to being a physician in the community, Dr. Robert Johnson hosted a tennis camp at his home in Lynchburg, Virginia, starting in...
Jolynn Johnson Smith never thought it would have taken quite so long to start restoring her grandfather’s home. Renovating the home at 1422 Pierce St. was the goal of the Whirlwind Johnson Foundation since it began in 2015. Seeing the project come to fruition is bittersweet...
A foundation in Lynchburg is working to restore a home to honor a historic Black figure in the community. Dr. Robert Walter “Whirlwind” Johnson broke barriers as the first African American physician to practice at Lynchburg General Hospital. “He was my personal doctor,” said Elmer Reid Jr....
Dr. Robert Walter “Whirlwind” Johnson was the force behind the integration of African American tennis. A coach to two African American grand slam champions, Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe, Dr. Johnson disrupted the tennis landscape and made space for generations of Black athletes to train...
Tournament Partner - EDWARDSVILLE — After a year off due to the coronavirus, the Tiger Classic returned for its 26th edition of the tournament and crowned 10 champions. Played on Saturday and Sunday at the EHS Tennis Center, the tournament allowed area players a chance...
For at least one day, Nathaniel Jackson achieved a greatness that had been denied him. So the story goes, that's the day when Jackson, a Black singles and doubles champion in the 1930s on the segregated American Tennis Association circuit, defeated white British tennis great Fred...
Lenny Simpson stood on the tennis court at 1406 Orange St. in Wilmington where, 67 years earlier, he'd peeked through the bushes to get a glimpse of legends. Simpson's childhood home, which still exists, was a block away on Ann Street, across what used to be...