Distinguished alumna of Williston High School Althea Gibson will be featured on the new 2025 quarter design, according to The United States Mint.
Gibson became the first person of color to claim victory at the prestigious Wimbledon Championships in 1957.
In the year following, Gibson was the first Black woman to be named female athlete of the year by The Associated Press.
By the end of the 1950s, Gibson had won 11 Grand Slam titles, claiming numerous victories in Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the French Open.
More:What connection did Althea Gibson have with Wilmington?
![ALTHEA GIBSON: Before she became the first Black person to win Wimbledon, the trailblazer spent part of her youth in Wilmington. A Williston High School graduate, she honed her tennis game at the home of Dr. Hubert Eaton, who had a court behind his home on Orange Street. [AP PHOTO]](/gcdn/presto/2023/06/23/NSTN/5b66bb81-2541-46c1-bdb0-283b79b6a05e-WILM_WILLISTON14.JPG?width=300&height=384&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
In 1959, Gibson briefly explored a career as a singer and an actress.
The trailblazing athlete reentered the sports industry in 1964 and embarked upon a significant career transition, entering the realm of professional golf and becoming the first Black woman to compete on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA).
Seven years later, Gibson made a return to her tennis roots. Her contributions to the sport were acknowledged with her induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1971.
The American tennis player and professional golfer left behind a lasting legacy both in Wilmington and nationally after her passing in 2003.
The athlete, for whom the tennis complex in Wilmington’s Empie Park was dedicated in memory of, is among one of five historical women who will make an appearance on the backs of the upcoming coins.
The other women being featured are:
- Ida B. Wells, investigative reporter, suffragist, and co-founder of the NAACP.
- Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America.
- Dr. Vera Rubin, groundbreaking astronomer whose work provided evidence for the existence of dark matter in the universe.
- Stacey Park Milbern, disability justice activist and disabled rights advocate, appointed to the Independent Living Council and Commission for the Blind by the North Carolina Governer in 2004.
The announcement by the U.S. Mint marks the conclusion of the fourth and final year of their American Women Quarters Program.