Shaking hands with the Queen of England was a long way from being forced to sit in the colored section of the bus going into downtown Wilmington, North Carolina.

and British singles titles the British and Australian doubles championships and the U. Dodd in the Democratic primary for his seat. As there was no professional tour for women Gibson was limited to playing in exhibition tours including a series of matches before Harlem Globetrotter basketball games.

In the early 1960s Althea Gibson also became the first black player to compete on the women's golf tour. In 1956 Althea Gibson became the first person of color to win a Grand Slam title (the French Open). ".