Althea Gibson	Maurice Ashley

The New York Liberty continues to celebrate the accomplishments of African-Americans in this week's Black History Spotlight. Nyliberty.com returns with a feature that highlights African-American athletes who helped pave the way for today's superstars.

MAURICE ASHLEY (1966-)
Maurice Ashley is a world-class chess phenomenon who plays with a mixture of charisma, poise and intellectual sharpness. Ashley, a Jamaica native, was inspired to play chess by former American World Champion Paul Morhpy and immediately fell in love with the sport.

Ashley played on numerous black masters and black bear chess clubs to increase his knowledge and gain more experience. He then earned the rank of National Master in 1986, and exceeded the 2400 barrier, that led him to the position as the International Grand Chess Master in 1993.

Maurice is known worldwide for appearing on numerous programs and competing in the Kasparov-Short, Deep Blue matches, but most all for being the first African-American to win the coveted Grand Chess Master title.

ALTHEA GIBSON (1927-2003)
Althea Gibson an international tennis champion became the first African-American woman to win a major singles tennis championship.

Despite constant discrimination, Gibson continued to win tournaments and make a name for herself both nationally and abroad. In honor of her world class talents, Gibson became the first African-American, of either sex, invited to play at the U.S. Nationals in Forest Hills, NY.

Gibson then became the first African-American invited to enter the all-England tournament at Wimbledon, playing there in 1951. She entered other tournaments, though at first winning only minor titles outside the ATA. In 1956, she won the French Open. In the same year, she toured worldwide as a member of a national tennis team supported by the U.S. State Department.

In 1957, she was the first African-American to be voted by the Associated Press as its Female Athlete of the Year. She won the honor again in 1958.

The next year, she made more history by winning Wimbledon and the U.S. Nationals, the first African-American to win either. She must have liked winning the world's two most prestigious tournaments, too, because she repeated the accomplishments in 1958.

She was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 1971.

JIMMY WINKFIELD (1882-1974)
Jimmy Winkfield is one of the first African-American horse jockeys in racing history. He starting racing for just $8 a month and it eventually led to $1,000 a race. Winkfield was the first and last African-American to win back-to-back Kentucky Derby’s. Winkfield should always and forever be remembering for his outstanding accomplishment in the sport world of horse jockeying.