Many tennis fans regard Althea Gibson as the first great black American Tennis Player. However, long before Gibson broke the color barrier in that sport, Lucy Diggs Slowe was the first African-American woman to hold a major title by winning the American Tennis Association (ATA) Championship in its inaugural year. While Slowe didn’t ever break the color barrier in tennis, she did in many other aspects of life.
Faithful to the Task at Hand: The Life of Lucy Diggs Slowe documents her life as a monument to achievement and overcoming adversity. It details how she was born into humble circumstances in Virginia in 1883, just three years after the end of slavery. Slowe was orphaned after the death of her mother when she was just 6 years old. Despite that, she earned a college degree during a time when very few people in general, and blacks in particular, achieved that level of education.
When Slowe decided to attend college, financial reality set in as she did not have the monetary resources to fund an education. She was also informed that a few black men had managed to work their way through college but that no woman had apparently accomplished that. In response, Slowe declared that she would be a pioneer. Indeed, that is exactly what she did.
Faithful to the Task at Hand examines the importance of the history of tennis for African-Americans in the United States. It was pursued for health and entertainment benefits, but also because tennis was a sign of racial equality. Many well-to-do members of the black communities had private courts. Public courts were available in Baltimore, the place where Lucy was raised following the death of her mother.
There is no reliable record of how Slowe became involved in tennis, but there is ample evidence of her passion and enthusiasm for the sport. She was known as a fierce competitor as well as for her sportsmanship and fair play. She was elected president of the Women’s Tennis Club while attending Howard. She was also one of the founding members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and was elected as its first president. Her role in these collegiate organizations was the first seedlings of what ultimately became a life of public leadership.
Slowe won the first ATA singles Championship in 1917 and did it again in 1921. She also won several mixed doubles titles partnered with John Wilkerson. Faithful to the Task at Hand reports that Slowe won a total of 17 tennis titles during her lifetime. While Slowe was a great tennis player, her participation in the sport is a mere footnote in the summary of her life.
After graduating from Howard with an English degree, Slowe worked as a school teacher and went on to found public schools that created and transformed educational opportunities for black students. She was later appointed as the first African-American to be Dean of Women at Howard. She was the first woman to serve in that position anywhere in the United States.
Faithful to the Task at Hand details Slowe’s life as a political activist. She was influential at both the personal, local, and national levels. She founded the National Association of College Women and was president of that organization for several years. Slowe also founded the Association of Advisors to Women in Colored Schools. She was a feminist who frequently clashed with the patriarchal establishment to advocate for women’s rights and stand up to injustice.
Faithful to the Task at Hand: The Life of Lucy Diggs Slowe provides a glimpse into the values and ideals that drove the life of this transformational leader. Slowe’s leadership substance and style were based on a model of social justice. She viewed her work as a spiritual vocation for the greater good. She was dedicated to providing students with opportunities and the tools to excel.
Lucy Diggs Slowe was a great American because of what she accomplished in life and in how her efforts transformed the lives of others. She also happened to be a great tennis player.
 | Faithful to the Task at Hand: The Life of Lucy Diggs Slowe |
