Billie Jean King photography exhibit open at Long Beach library named after her

The Billie Jean King Main Library presently has a peculiar photography grounds dedicated to the Long Beach facility’s iconic namesake.

The much than 80 photos — portion of the New-York History Society’s traveling grounds “Billie Jean King: Champion. Activist. Legend.” — chronicle the beingness and vocation of the tennis legend, Long Beach said successful a Friday, Sept. 24, announcement.

King is simply a Long Beach native, a salient LGBTQ activistic and portion proprietor of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The photograph grounds premiered connected Tuesday, Sept. 21, the two-year day of the 94,500-square-foot, state-of-the-art room opening successful downtown Long Beach.

“It is an grant to big the New-York Historical Society’s Billie Jean King photography accumulation astatine our caller Billie Jean King Main Library,” Mayor Robert Garcia said successful a statement. “As the lone Long Beach autochthonal to ever person the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest grant that tin beryllium bestowed connected an American citizen, Billie Jean King is genuinely a Long Beach legend.”

King was calved and raised successful Long Beach, and graduated from Poly High School.

She past went connected to execute tennis glory.

King is simply a erstwhile satellite no.1 tennis subordinate and won 39 Grand Slam titles during her career, including 12 successful singles tournaments. She was inducted successful the International Tennis Hall of Fame successful 1987 and the National Women’s Hall of Fame successful 1990.The United States Tennis Association named its large New York stadium aft her successful 2006.

She was besides a pioneer of societal justness and equality and was portrayed by Emma Stone successful the biographical movie “Battle of the Sexes,” which told the communicative of her lucifer against Bobby Riggs.

“Billie Jean King’s tennis vocation and her committed advocacy for adjacent rights service arsenic a role-model the satellite over,” said Marilyn Satin Kushner, curator and caput of the Department of Prints, Photographs and Architectural Collections astatine the New-York Historical Society. “This accumulation is astir that communicative and it has been my privilege to beryllium capable to archer it.”

The photos, successful the expansive atrium of the library’s archetypal level, showcase her vocation connected the tennis tribunal and her decades-long activism for the rights of women and the LGBTQ community, the metropolis said successful its announcement.

There is nary extremity day for the grounds yet, the metropolis said, but it volition enactment up astatine slightest done the extremity of the year.

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