When Kimberly Selden and Virginia Thorton met for lunch in December 2021, little did they know that their conversation would snowball into a movement. The two family friends gathered at Esoteric, a restaurant in Virginia Beach to discuss their shared aspirations of launching and designing a hotel, then the discussion took an unexpected turn. Over a video call, Selden and Thorton candidly express how a past conversation led to the creation of , a charitable organization that serves as a pathway to for Black women and girls through play.
The former expressed that in that now-intentional banter, Kimberly says she’d seen a video of Virginia playing tennis on Instagram–she hadn’t known that this was a hobby of hers. Living in New York City, Kimberly wanted to play more but felt it was difficult, namely because few people who looked like her played. The sentiment felt all too familiar to Virginia, but this conversation sparked the creation of BGTC.
Founded in March 2022, is officially a 501(c)(3). With Wimbledon doubles’ champion Taylor Townsend on the board of directors, BGTC has provided countless community clinics across the nation, partnered with local historically Black college and university tennis teams, and had step out in their merch. Engaging the club’s four key pillars of C.
A.R.E: culture change, access, representation, and exposure—Kimberly and Virginia aim to reclaim, reshape, and shift the narrative surrounding the sport.
Evident in the at September’s U..