Althea Gibson, the woman credited for breaking many racial barriers in the late 50s, could soon have a Florida A&M’s Wahnish Way named after her.
The Leon County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to take up the request to rename the street Tuesday evening.
Gibson has become a household name on the campus of Florida A&M University. While in college, she played multiple sports—from teeing up on the golf course, to dribbling on the hardwood with the Lady Rattler’s basketball team. But she would reach new heights as a tennis player.
Breaking barriers in tennis
Despite having faced racism in the segregated South, Gibson took over the tennis circuit, becoming the first Black woman to compete in the U.S. Open and winning her first Grand Slam event in 1956. The Rattlers inducted Gibson into its Athletics Hall of Fame in 1976.
Now, officials in Tallahassee want to honor her this Women’s History month by renaming FAMU’s Wannish Way to ‘Althea Gibson Way’.
“I think it’ll be pretty profound statement,” said FAMU student Dillon Ford. He supports the idea because Wahnish is such a central street on campus and thinks that’ll get more people interested in learning about Gibson and her accomplishments.
“Homecoming comes around, this is the street. Any event you must go through Wahnish Way, so for people to see that and then get the history and understanding behind why they’re doing it, I think will be pretty informative.”
The Leon County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to take up the request to rename the street Tuesday at 3pm. If they approve, Wahnish will be renamed on April 3rd, impacting nearly 70 addresses within a 2-mile zone.
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