Women's Performance

Ashley Brown - Lessons from Althea Gibson - Serving Yourself and Refusing to Be Forgotten


Listen Later

So often, women’s sports history is forgotten, lost, or, at best, diminished. It’s especially true for African American female athletes in sport. 

Many are familiar with Jackie Robinson as the first black man to play Major League Baseball, but few know of the accomplishments of female tennis and golf legend, Althea Gibson.  

Author, Ashley Brown, shines a light on Gibson’s history with her biography, “Serving Herself: The Life and Times of Althea Gibson.”

Brown is Assistant Professor and the Allan H. Selig Chair in the History of Sport and Society at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is an expert on sport history, women's history, and African American history. 

Why Althea Gibson?

As Brown highlights, Gibson was a woman of many firsts. In her unprecedented athletic career, she was the first African American to win titles at the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.

She went on, amazingly, to become the first African American to compete in the Ladies Profressional Golf Association. She had a success music career, and high political ambitions. She even graced the covers of Sports Illustrated and time. 

Always an advocate for causes she believed in, Althea Gibson didn’t do anything half-heartedly, even in a time in society were there was little support for people of color. In fact, for as much fame as she had on the court, she also faced increased challenges as a woman of color in the late 50s and 60s.


Lessons from this legend bubble up in this enlightening conversation, including themes of:

  • Resilience and Perseverance
  • Not Letting Passion Go Cold
  • Continuous Pursuit of Excellence
  • Helping and Supporting Others in their Journeys
  • Being an Advocate for Causes You Believe In
  • Fighting for Social Justice Reform

Althea Gibson was a woman who refused to be forgotten and thanks to Ashley Brown’s comprehensive biography, she won’t be. 

Purchase Serving Yourself: The Life and Times of Althea Gibson

Get 25% off all courses through the end of June 2025! Purchase a Feisty On-Demand Course: learning.feisty.co

Sign up to Receive The Feisty 40+ Newsletter:

https://www.feistymenopause.com/blog/Feisty-40-plus

Sign up to Receive The Feist Newsletter:

https://www.womensperformance.com/the-feist


Follow us on Instagram:

@feisty_womens_performance

Feisty Media Website:

https://livefeisty.com/

https://www.womensperformance.com/

Support our Partners:

Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with the code PERFORMANCE at https://www.previnex.com/



...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Women's PerformanceBy Sara Gross, PhD

  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4

4.4

27 ratings


More shows like Women's Performance

View all
Another Mother Runner by Another Mother Runner

Another Mother Runner

1,329 Listeners

The Rich Roll Podcast by Rich Roll

The Rich Roll Podcast

11,757 Listeners

Consummate Athlete Podcast by Molly Hurford & Peter Glassford

Consummate Athlete Podcast

115 Listeners

Feisty Triathlon by Feisty Triathlon podcast

Feisty Triathlon

192 Listeners

If We Were Riding by If We Were Riding

If We Were Riding

69 Listeners

The Ready State Podcast by With Kelly and Juliet Starrett

The Ready State Podcast

490 Listeners

For The Long Run: Exploring the Why Behind Running by Jonathan Levitt

For The Long Run: Exploring the Why Behind Running

410 Listeners

FAREWELL by Steve Magness & Brad Stulberg

FAREWELL

322 Listeners

Girls Gone Gravel podcast by Girls Gone Gravel

Girls Gone Gravel podcast

77 Listeners

Afternoon Snack by Meredith Root and Alex Parker

Afternoon Snack

203 Listeners

The Consistency Project by EC Synkowski

The Consistency Project

537 Listeners

[un]phased podcast by [un]phased podcast

[un]phased podcast

19 Listeners

Hit Play Not Pause by Hit Play Not Pause

Hit Play Not Pause

718 Listeners

Huberman Lab by Scicomm Media

Huberman Lab

28,295 Listeners

The Running Explained Podcast by Elisabeth Scott

The Running Explained Podcast

435 Listeners

The Mel Robbins Podcast by Mel Robbins

The Mel Robbins Podcast

20,699 Listeners

The Business of Fitness by Feisty Media

The Business of Fitness

5 Listeners

Nobody Asked Us with Des & Kara by Des Linden and Kara Goucher

Nobody Asked Us with Des & Kara

1,654 Listeners

All Bodies on Bikes by Marley Blonsky

All Bodies on Bikes

47 Listeners

The Body Pod by The Body Pod

The Body Pod

89 Listeners

Your Diet Sucks by Zoë Rom

Your Diet Sucks

120 Listeners