#arthurashe

By Daniella Furman | Textual Processing Branch

With both Black History month and the 50th anniversary of the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fast approaching, I began looking back to the year of 1968 to try to get a small picture of the country and its’ people at that time. There were so many important milestones and events happening in 1968 that I quickly became overwhelmed by all of the social change and chaos.  But I also saw an immeasurable amount of courage, determination, strength and compassion during that year that led me to delve deeper.

    Two events that stood out in particular that I would like to highlight from that year are the first ever U.S. Amateur Tennis Competition and the first U.S. Tennis Open held that allowed amateur players to compete. In winning both of these competitions, Arthur Ashe became the first black male to win both the amateur and open competition in the same year. I decided to find out more about this man and his story. I was truly moved by his story and the example of someone using their talents, drive and accomplishments to pave a way forward for others.

    Arthur Ashe (1943-1993) was a three times Grand Slam Tennis champion. During his athletic career he received many awards and accolades including being ranked World No. 1 in 1968 and 1975. He achieved so many firsts and a wide variety of awards and titles that had never been held by an African American male before. He is also known for his charitable works and activism including founding the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the Defeat of AIDS and the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health. He was also posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton. Ashe begun playing tennis by the age of 7 in his hometown of Richmond, Virginia and continued through high school. During this time he was trained and mentored by Ron Charity and Robert Walter Johnson. In 1958 he competed in his first integrated tennis competition and became the first African American to play in the Maryland Boys Championships. He later decided to move to St. Louis, Missouri where the competitions were more racially integrated than in Virginia at the time.

Reagan White House Photographs, 1/20/1981-1/20/1989 (NAID 75856909)