U.S. Census Bureau Black History Month Feature for Feb. 8

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily Black History Month feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090226/CENSUSLOGO)

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8: ALTHEA GIBSON

Profile America for the eighth day of Black History Month. Sports fans know the tennis greats, sisters Venus and Serena Williams. But they may not know the path was blazed for them over 50 years ago, when Althea Gibson became the first African-American to compete in the U.S. Nationals. In 1956, Gibson became the first black to win the French championship. The next year, she was also the first to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Nationals, an achievement she repeated the following year. In the U.S. today, there are 253,000 professional athletes, coaches and umpires, 36 percent female, and 8 percent African-American. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau, conducting the 2010 Census beginning April 1st.

Sources: www.altheagibson.com

Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 596

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look under the "Newsroom" button).

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau