NC historic marker to honor African American tennis club

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - A tennis club for African American players that hosted International Tennis Hall of Famers Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe is being honored with a historic marker.

The marker will be dedicated Thursday at the site where the Algonquin Tennis Club was created in 1922 by the American Tennis Association, which was formed to support African American players who were then banned from the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association.

The members met in private homes for 12 years before the Algonquin Tennis Club House was purchased in 1934.

The club closed in 1964, and was renamed the W.D. Hill Recreation Center.

The Durham Committee on Negro Affairs was formed at the club in 1935 and remains active today as the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People.