Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was a tennis legend and a champion of civil rights and equality. He won three Grand Slam titles, the US Open (1968), Australian Open (1970) and Wimbledon (1975). Arthur Ashe was the first African-American male to win the U.S. Open and Wimbledon singles titles. He remains the only African-American male to hold this title to date. In addition, he was the first African-American man to be inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame. In 1968, he was ranked the #1 Tennis Player in the world. Ashe was an ambassador to equality and change in athletics and civil rights. Tragically, he contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion he received during heart-bypass surgery. He died from AIDS-related complications at only 49 years old.
Arthur Ashe was born in Richmond, Virginia during racism and segregation. Richmond, Virginia was the capitol of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Richmond had one of the largest slave markets and the largest iron and arms factory during the war. Ashe was born in the era of separate and unequal. His family still had to board and sit in the back of the bus. Segregation was in existence and a reality in his life.
Arthur Ashe parents were married and he was the eldest of their two children. His mother died when he was six years old. His father was semi-literate, strict, and protective of his sons. The elder Ashe was the supervisor and on-site caretaker for Brookfield Park – the largest blacks-only recreation park in Richmond, VA. The multi-acre recreational park had four tennis courts, a baseball field, a basketball court and a swimming pool for Richmond’s black residents. Additionally, the job came with a house the family could live in. Arthur Ashe learned to play tennis on the courts at Brookfield Park where his father was the caretaker.
Tennis is a white man’s game. Tennis has written and unwritten rules and standards. For example, there is the white and clean-cut attire, the silence from the audience, and the white male judges. There are white judges who critique not only your game, but your attitude. Tennis is considered to be a game for the upper class and specifically for whites only. Even the Williams sisters faced push-back on everything from their attire, to their demeanor, and including the physicality of their bodies and strength.
Ashe learned the game and began winning. He knew not to lose his composure and dignity on the court. The white boys could act out and abuse him, but he had to act like young man. Arthur Ashe carried himself on and off the court in a respectable manner. Initially, he was coached by Robert Walter Johnson who also coached Althea Gibson. However, due to segregation, he was prevented from playing against white students. He accepted an offer to move to St. Louis where he could compete against all players.
By 1960, he was featured in Sports Illustrated magazine. He won the NCAA singles and doubles titles for UCLA. He began to win Singles titles around the world. Arthur Ashe won the U.S. Open, the Australian Open, the French Open, and the Wimbledon. Meanwhile, black athletes were raising their fists literally and speaking against inequality and civil rights. Ashe was winning quietly while civil rights activism was erupting around him. According to his memoir, he thought athletes should play and not speak of such things off the court. His approach mirrors the ‘shut up and play’ mindset whites still have for black athletes today. That approach changed in 1969 when he was denied a visa to South Africa for the South African Open.
South Africa was under apartheid and did not allow integration on and off the tennis courts. His visa was denied because it was against the law for him to compete against white players. He re-applied for multiple years and was repeatedly denied. Once he could not overlook or side-step racial discrimination, he became more vocal against apartheid and social justice. He testified before Congress in attempts to have the U.S. government to impose sanctions against South Africa. He was arrested in D.C. for protesting for Haitian refugees who were being sent back while Cuban refugees were welcomed.
Although he began to fight for equality, many in black society questioned his allegiance to black society. In the midst of his activism for social justice, Ashe believed Affirmative Action made black people lazy and it promoted entitlement. He was initially against equal pay for women tennis players. In opposition, black society thought Arthur Ashe was too much in the white world while playing the white man’s game.
Arthur Ashe had his first heart attack at the age of 36. His heart attack helped prove the link between family genetics and cardiovascular disease. His mother had cardiovascular disease and his father had suffered two heart attacks. Arthur Ashe had a second heart bypass in 1983 and received a blood transfusion. After experiencing paralysis in his right arm, he was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988. The blood transfusion he received in 1983 was infected with HIV. HIV was still in the early stages of discovery in the medical community. At that stage, blood donations were not tested for sexually transmitted diseases. Additionally, HIV and AIDS were considered a disease which only afflicted homosexuals and drug users.
Arthur Ashe used his diagnosis to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS and to de-stigmatize the disease. He also raised awareness for heart disease by becoming the National Chairperson for the American Heart Association. Ashe formed the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the Defeat of AIDS. He pushed for more government funding for research and finding a cure. Furthermore, he gave a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in 1992 on December 1st which is World AIDS Day. He founded the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health months before his death. His memoir, Days of Grace, was completed in the final days before his death.
Arthur Ashe died from AIDS-related pneumonia at the age of young age of 49. His short life which was filled with athletic accomplishment, activism, and raising awareness of health, civil and social justice has remained in existence since his death. Despite criticism from others, he has stood true to himself and his beliefs.