Ashley Brown Wins 2025 Shapiro Book Prize

The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens has awarded the 2025 Shapiro Book Prize to Ashley Brown for the biography Serving Herself: The Life and Times of Althea Gibson (Oxford University Press, 2023). The biennial prize, which includes a $10,000 cash award, honors an outstanding first scholarly monograph in American history and culture.

This year’s selection committee described Serving Herself as a story that operates on multiple levels, highlighting not only Gibson’s exceptional career as an elite athlete but also the broader complexities of sports integration and women’s pursuits of athletic careers. The committee noted that the book explores these themes against the backdrop of “the struggles of African Americans during the Great Migration and Civil Rights era.” Calling the work “history at its best,” the committee lauded Brown’s profound engagement with diverse archival materials.

“Winning the Shapiro Book Prize is a validation of the years I spent uncovering the stories of Althea Gibson and other historically significant yet overlooked figures in tennis and golf,” Brown said. “I hope this award brings more readers to Gibson’s story and inspires them to see her as a dynamic and determined individual who navigated life with grit, humor, and ingenuity.”

In her groundbreaking work, Brown explores the life and legacy of Althea Gibson (1927–2003), the first African American tennis player to win titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Nationals (1957–1958). Gibson also became the first African American woman to compete on the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour in 1963. Despite facing systemic racism and gender discrimination, Gibson broke barriers in sports, challenged societal norms, and redefined possibilities for future generations.

Drawing on an extensive array of primary sources—including oral histories, correspondence, and thousands of newspaper and magazine articles—Brown situates Gibson’s story within the broader contexts of American culture, social movements, and the intersection of race, class, gender, and sports.

“Ashley Brown’s biography of Althea Gibson is deeply researched, compellingly written, and highly relevant,” said Susan Juster, The Huntington’s W.M. Keck Foundation Director of Research. “The selection committee praised her nuanced and empathetic portrayal of Gibson as a complex, fully realized individual navigating the challenges of her time.”