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Althea Gibson must be smiling over Venus, Serena

By Richard Lapchick
Special to ESPN.com

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

As Venus and Serena Williams reached the 2008 Wimbledon final, many noted the great athletic accomplishments for the sisters, and fewer noted it as another racial milestone in sports. Venus's fifth singles title is surely remarkable, but it pales in comparison to the trailblazing efforts of Althea Gibson at Wimbledon in 1957. In 1989, we honored Arthur Ashe when I was director of Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society. The first thing Ashe said in his acceptance spe ...

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