that s it. new ball. shots are 2-2. got by him. comes back with it! you try to put your entire being mentally and physically on automatic pilot while you re playing tennis. everything is concentrated on the razor s edge and you forget the score. you forget where you are. you forget what your name is. i feel like my body s floating within myself. the game of tennis is a symphony in white. players in white suits hitting a white ball back and fort. in all white country clubs but a new, young player has come along and he is one of the greatest we have ever produced and he is not white. i sense confusion in what an athlete should be, especially an african american context. does still persist in the world about black athletes because we tend to do disproportionately well in athletes. i like to fight the myth. there are lots of us who can think as well as run, jump, hit tennis balls, dunk basketballs. and the challenge now is to convince young black athletes that the
that s it. [ applause ] 2-2. comes back with it! you try to put your entire being mentally and physically on automatic pilot while you re playing tennis. everything is concentrated on the razor s edge and you forget the score. you forget where you are. you forget what your name is. i feel like my body s floating within myself. the game of tennis is a symphony in white. players in white suits hitting a white ball back and forth between white baselines in all-white country clubs. but a new young player has come along and he is one of the greatest we have ever produced, and he is not white. i sense confusion in what an athlete should be, especially in an african american context. there does still persist in the world myths about black athletes because we tend to do disproportionately well in athletics. some people think we are all brawn and no brains. and i like to fight the myth. there are lots of us who can think as well as run, jump, hit tennis balls, dunk basketb
On the courts next to my house in richmond, virginia, during an idle moment when the courts weren t being used and dr. johnson saw me during that moment. dr. johnson had been a physician. he built a tennis court in his backyard and started a junior development program for young black kids in the early 50s helping gibson to be terrific. if you were black and wanted to be good in tennis you had to go to dr. johnson. you get there and see the clay court in the yard. lights. this is our lich practice, practice, practice. hone the skills. that is called the junior development program. dr. johnson also made us read just about every tennis book there was and internalized the history of the sport. you playing a game that white guys dominated. it was so intimidating.
i am fascinated by what made people what they are. that one moment when their life changed completely. mine happened when i was 10 years old. on the courts next to my house in richmond, virginia, during an idle moment when the courts weren t being used and dr. johnson saw me during that moment. dr. johnson had been a physician. he built a tennis court in his backyard and started a junior development program for young black kids in the early 50s and he had helped althea gibson to become terrific. if you were black and wanted to get good in tennis, you had to go to dr. johnson. you get there, you d see this clay court in the yard, lights. and this was our life, practice, practice, practice, hone your skills. that was called the junior development program. dr. johnson also made us read just about every tennis book there was.