At around the same time Jackie Robinson was making history in America’s pastime, another black athlete was breaking down color barriers of her own. Althea Gibson was the first black American to be allowed to compete on the world tennis tour, and also became the first to win a Grand Slam title.

As tennis fans around the world tune in to this month’s Australian Open, invite Larryette Kyle-DeBose and Cecil Harris on your show for an insider’s look at athletes who changed the game of tennis forever. From the all-time greats to future legends who will be showcased on the courts this month, Kyle-DeBose and Harris will discuss:

• The extraordinary triumphs—and debilitating humiliations — experienced by blacks in professional tennis from the 1940s right up to today.

• How Althea Gibson— “tennis’ Jackie Robinson” —became the most celebrated female athlete of her time, despite being prohibited from participating in her sport’s major tournaments until she was 23.

• How today’s African-American tennis greats, from the Venus and Serena Williams to James Blake, are carrying on the traditions laid down by Arthur Ashe, Althea Gibson, and others.

CREDENTIALS: A photojournalist and author, Larryette Kyle-DeBose is also a player-captain in the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association. Cecil Harris has written on sports for Newsday, New York Post, The Sporting News and USA Today. Together, they are the co-authors of CHARGING THE NET: A History of Blacks in Tennis from Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe to the Williams Sisters, which was named a New York Times Editor’s Choice Selection.

AVAILABILITY: Nationwide by arrangement
and via telephone
CONTACT: Larryette Kyle-DeBose, 770-557-0333 (GA); lkdebose@aol.com  www.chargingthenet.com