Lange Johnson has big dreams for his grandfather’s home on Pierce Street — almost as big as the dreams Walter Johnson nurtured there decades ago. The simple circa-1911 American Foursquare house, with its white clapboard and wood-shingled second facade, sits boarded up, waiting for an infusion...
Howard County High School’s Corinne Chau earned the United States Tennis Association Mid-Atlantic Sectional ServeItForward Youth Leader Award after spearheading a fundraising drive to showcase the legacy of those who broke tennis’ color barrier. Chau, who is also a successful volleyball player, received the award for...
Arthur Ashe, the first black tennis player to overcome all manner of discrimination to win the US and Australian Open titles as well as Wimbledon, which he did in 1968, 1970 and 1975 respectively, is the subject of a major new Hollywood movie that is...
In a memoir published a few months after Arthur Ashe’s death the tennis champion reflected on one of the most famous demonstrations in sporting history. Tommie Smith and John Carlos made their Black Power salute at the Mexico Olympics in 1968, the year that Ashe...
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Long before the exploits of Arthur Ashe or the Williams sisters, Althea Gibson was achieving historic results in the previously all-white world of professional tennis. The 1957-58 AP Female Athlete of the Year, Gibson, a Florida A&M graduate, won the 1956 French Open, and both...
Over the course of her staggering career, Althea Gibson vanquished barrier after barrier standing in the way of African-American tennis players. In 1950, she became the first African-American to compete in the U.S. National Championships, the precursor to the U.S. Open. The 1956 French Championships...
Walking past 1422 Pierce Street in Lynchburg, Virginia, it is easy to miss history. The property features a modest home with a modest yard in a modest neighborhood. But to those in town – and to those around the world – who know the story of...
When I asked tennis pro Julien Delaine if he knew Bobby Johnson Jr., the sparkle in his eyes told me the question had struck gold. “Yeah, man!” Julien said excitedly, adding that anyone who hung around the tennis courts at 16th and Kennedy streets in Washington,...
Of the extremely limited public spaces where black children could frolic in segregation-era Richmond, Brook Field Park was the chief choice. Among the youngsters who roved its grounds, swam in its pool in sweltering summers and played on its tennis courts and baseball fields, there...