Ashley Brown won the 2025 Shapiro Book Prize for her book Serving Herself: The Life and Times of Althea Gibson. | Photo: Dave Giroux of Dave Giroux Photography. Book: Oxford University Press.
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.”
Brown, an associate professor of history and the Allan H. Selig Chair in the History of Sport and Society at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is the third recipient of the prize since its establishment in 2019 by the Shapiro Center for American History and Culture at The Huntington.
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Prize Presentation and Lecture
Brown will formally receive the Shapiro Book Prize when she gives a public lecture about her work at The Huntington on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. in Rothenberg Hall. To attend the lecture, reserve free tickets or watch the livestream.
- About the Shapiro Book Prize
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The biennial Shapiro Book Prize recognizes exceptional first scholarly monographs in American political, social, intellectual, or cultural history, with a focus on works that make significant use of original documentary research. A committee of distinguished scholars in the field selects finalists and names a winner. The 2025 prize attracted 45 submissions from publishers, showcasing the innovative work of early-career historians.
To be eligible for the 2025 Shapiro Book Prize, the book must have been published in 2023 or 2024. The work also must have been based on original documentary research in some aspect of American history and culture, broadly defined. Information about the 2027 Shapiro Book Prize will be released in spring 2026. Questions may be directed to shapirobookprize@huntington.org.
- Finalists for the 2025 Shapiro Book Prize
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The committee recognized six finalists for their outstanding contributions (listed alphabetically by authors’ last names):
- Ashley Brown, Serving Herself: The Life and Times of Althea Gibson (Oxford University Press, 2023)
- Adrian De Leon, Bundok: A Hinterland History of Filipino America (University of North Carolina Press, 2023)
- Holly Miowak Guise, Alaska Native Resilience: Voices from World War II (University of Washington Press, 2024)
- Sheyda F.A. Jahanbani, The Poverty of the World: Rediscovering the Poor at Home and Abroad, 1941–1968 (Oxford University Press, 2023)
- Giuliana Perrone, Nothing More than Freedom: The Failure of Abolition in American Law (Cambridge University Press, 2023)
- Whitney Barlow Robles, Curious Species: How Animals Made Natural History (Yale University Press, 2023)
- Previous Shapiro Book Prize Winners
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- 2023: R. Isabela Morales, Happy Dreams of Liberty: An American Family in Slavery and Freedom (Oxford University Press, 2022)
- 2021: Benjamin Francis-Fallon, The Rise of the Latino Vote: A History (Harvard University Press, 2019)
About the Shapiro Center
The Shapiro Center for American History and Culture at The Huntington advances scholarship, knowledge, and understanding of American history and culture—especially of the early republic and the nation’s founders and leaders. Established in 2019, thanks to the vision and generosity of L. Dennis and Susan R. Shapiro, the center engages both scholarly and general audiences. The center’s Los Angeles home offers a special opportunity to explore West Coast and global perspectives on the development of America and the genesis and evolution of national institutions.
The Huntington is one of the largest repositories of American historical materials in the nation. Extraordinary American presidential and founders papers sit within a broad humanities context that includes expansive and diverse holdings in American history, literature, and high and popular culture. Rich library and archival materials are complemented by The Huntington’s outstanding American art collections.
About The Huntington
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens is a cultural and educational institution of global significance. Building on Henry E. and Arabella Huntington’s renowned collections, The Huntington supports research and promotes education in the arts, humanities, and botanical science through the growth and preservation of its collections; the development of a community of scholars, school programs, and partnerships; and the display and interpretation of its extraordinary resources for diverse audiences. The Huntington is located at 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, California, 12 miles from downtown Los Angeles. Visitor information: huntington.org