Arthur Ashe was a highly ranked tennis player in the 1960s and 70s and the very first African-American tennis player to win a grand slam tournament. Not only was Ashe a hero and leader in sport, but also a vital figure in solving humanitarian issues and social justice for his fellow people in what was a completely segregated South America .
Early Years
Born in Richmond, Virginia on July 10th 1943, Arthur Ashe was born into a very discriminative southern America at the time. Growing up in a house located by a black’s only playground, Ashe spent most of his days on the tennis courts. The love Ashe had for tennis sparked his passion and desire to form a nonracist, multicultural South America. Ron Charity, a black tennis instructor in Richmond
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spotted the talent Ashe had for tennis. He started teaching Ashe the basic skills and movements in tennis and entered him into local tournaments. At the age of ten, after only three years of practising the sport, Ron Charity introduced Arthur Ashe to a well known professional tennis coach named Robert Walter Johnson who mentored Ashe throughout his teenage years.
In 1958, Ashe played his first ever integrated tennis competition under Johnson, the tournament was called the Maryland boy’s championships, Ashe was also the first ever black person to compete in this competition. This was a huge turning point in Ashe’s career but also an important step forward in his goal to achieve racial equality, he began to realise that he was viewed as just as an important and skilled sportsman as his fellow white competitors. Ashe went on to win many more competitions in his teenage years and began to build towards his professional career as a tennis player. Sports scholarships and professional coaching offered to Ashe allowed him to excel in the sport and gain recognition and respect from all races as a black …show more content…
athlete. Influencing Change Ashe was the first black man to ever participate and succeed in any amateur and professional competition or tournament he entered. Ashe won many well know competitions such as the grand slam on three occasions, both the American and Australian open, a title at Wimbledon and was also ranked at No.1 in the world. Ashe was forced to retire in 1979 after he suffered a heart attack. Later on, in 1988, it was discovered that Ashe was paralysed in his right arm and underwent emergency brain surgery. He had a biopsy taken which showed that Ashe had AIDS, this life threatening disease came after he picked up HIV from a blood transfusion given during his heart operation. Ashe began to raise awareness about the disease as well as educating young people about safe sex and continuing to fight for human rights. In 1993, Arthur Ashe was awarded the Presidential Medal Of Freedom, which amongst all of his awards was his most valued by the black community. The freedom award reflected his hard work and dedication to achieving an equal, non-segregated sporting world, it also showed the influence Ashe had on people as an educator and human rights activist. Above all Ashe wanted to be remembered as not only a sporting hero but for his influence on other people in both citizenship and education. The Legacy Left Behind Ashe died in 1993 from AIDS-related pneumonia at only 49 years of age after battling illness for some time, leaving a wife and daughter behind him as well as a great legacy that continues to live on today.
He was never afraid to speak out about the moral inequalities he experienced as an African-American and as a tennis player. The biggest tennis stadium in the world, the Arthur Ashe stadium in New York was built in his honour, the US open is often held in this stadium. A health and wellness centre was also built on the campus of UCLA, where Ashe studied on a sports-scholarship.
Arthur Ashe was a very influential civil rights activist, he took on tasks to make the world around him a better place, tried to put a stop to poverty, racism, stereotyping and even privilege which shows how humble he was as a person, he viewed everyone equally and didn’t believe in social class. Ashe influenced the opinion of many people from all backgrounds, religions and races. Ashe famously quoted; ” From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life” . This figure of speech shows how generous Ashe was, how he gave all he could to help others and form an equal
society.
Raymond Gray “Ray” Lewis was a track and field athlete. He was the first African-Canadian to win a medal at the Olympics, but his life was much more than that. Born in 1910, he faced racism and prejudice for his black heritage, but that didn’t stop him from following his dream. He accomplished various things in his life, and was, and still is, a source of inspiration for many people.
Valvano, Jim. “Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award Acceptance Speech.” ESPY Awards. ESPN. New York, March 4, 1993. Speech. Online. http://www.jimmyv.org/about-us/remembering-jim/jimmy-v-espy-awards-speech/
Jackie Robinson, a famous black baseball player, proved to the world that just because you have a different skin color does not mean that you aren’t as good as someone with a different color skin. Jackie was the first black man to ever sign with and play for a team that was a part of the all-white major league baseball organization. He along with Branch Rickey, the manager of the dodgers who signed Robinson, broke the color barrier in baseball and led the way for other talented Negro ball players to get into the majors.
Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play Major League Baseball. This was not an easy task for him to do. People judged him and didn’t like him by the color of his skin. Jackie Robinson said “The hate mail piled up” (Robinson). That shows that no one cared to give him a chance to play in the Major League. The innocence of young kids had a great inspiration on Jackie Robinson because they didn’t care about his color they just wanted him to play good. Jackie Robinson was “proud to be a part of a significant breakthrough” (Robinson) in breaking the color barrier. Even though Jackie Robinson has been through
Jackie Robinson’s ability to successfully integrate his sport set the stage for many others to advocate for an end to segregation in their respective environments. His period of trials and triumphs were significant to changing American perception of the Civil Rights revolution. By becoming the first African-American baseball player to play in the major leagues, he brought down an old misconception that black athletes were inferior to white athletes. Successively, his example would inspire those advocating for their civil rights, he lived out a message of nonviolence similar to the one Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lived out. Despite the constant prejudice he faced in his sport, he was able to keep himself composed and never retaliate.
Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. is a man of trust, courage, grace and honor. Although many of these attriobutes I share with Arthur, his high level of moral values and self reliance I aspire to achieve. Arthur was of African American decent and being born on July 10, 1943 in Richmond, Virginia he had to face many racial struggles and hardships. On the contrary, I was born and raised in somerset, New Jersey, in the 1990’s so my racial struggles were close to non-existent. Being of Italian- American decent, if I had lived in the time of Arthur Ashe I still would not have faced racial struggles as greatly as African Americans did in that time.
African Americans were among the worst treated races in the US; however, this did not stop them from fighting for the rights that so many had died for. It seemed as if black people would never be treated respectfully, but just like in comic books, there is always a hero that will fight for his people. This hero soon came to the scene and he was fierce enough to change the lives of many people. Most importantly, he broke the color barrier and created a path that would allow others to follow. However, something that was inevitable was the threats and racial remarks they had to face.
Jackie Robinson was a black man that played a white man only sport. Jackie Robinson’s life was outstanding regardless of the obstacles that were thrown in his way in order for him to make it to the top. Jackie Robinson overcame the pain people put him through with the support of his family, friends, and his God given talent, which was playing baseball. Jackie Robinson overcame the negativity of white people during the Civil Rights Movement. For this reason, Jackie Robinson never gave up on his dream and proved people wrong. Jackie Robinson became a vocal champion for the African-American athletes around the world (“Robinson, Jackie - Black History”).
To start off, for Jackie Robinsons bravery to stop the color barrier Jackie Robinson had the courage for two years no one else had. In the article “Skin Games” Gregg Guss states, “For two full years he ‘turned the other cheek’, his brain keeping his mouth shut while his heart burned with rage at the insults he knew he must tolerate”(2). Robinson managed to do a lot even with all the abuse he suffered. He had to walk away from name calling, death threats even as a child he faced abused being the only black family who lived in a white neighborhood. In the article “Skin Games” Gregg Guss states, “The world Jackie Robinson grew up in was separate and unequal” (3). All Jackie Robinson wanted to do was make the game he loved equal for all. He wanted to show that African Americans could play any sport just as good as anyone else that there skin color did not define their talents. Although Jackie Robinson faced a lot making the path for African Americans he did it bravely, diligently...
While attending college at UCLA, Jackie became the first African American to earn a varsity letter in all four sports that he play, which were Baseball, Football, Basketball, and Track (Jackie Robinson Official). While playing basketball, Jackie led his conference, which was and still is the Pac-10 or the Pacific Coast Conference, in scoring two years in a row. In 1940 he won the NCAA Championship in the broad jump. He also became an All-American on the football field (Jackie Robi...
In conclusion, Arthur Ashe successfully accomplished his American Dream, earned admiration from many and was recognized as one of the greatest tennis player in the country. As one of the first African American male tennis player who overcame inequality, he became an inspiration to others and encouraged them to work hard for their dreams. It had been years ever since his death in 1993, yet his legacy still live on.
There once was a legend and he went by the name of Jackie Roosevelt Robinson. “Jackie was born on January 31, 1919. Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play major league baseball. Jackie Robinson.” (“Jackie Robinson.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 14 Aug. 2017, Accessed 22 Sept. 2017 www.biography.com/people/jackie-robinson-9460813) Baseball isn’t the only thing Jackie accomplished throughout his life, for instance he went to college, had kids and did much more. But for Jackie it was harder because he had racial slurs thrown at him. Despite all of the discrimination and racism about Jackie Robinson and his family, he got passed it and became a star. Jackie was an outsider, he was the first African American to play Major league baseball, he used the haters to become an amazing ball player and a hero to other African Americans.
Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo Georgia to a family of sharecroppers (“Jackie Robinson” 2). Robinson was the youngest of five and was raised by a single mother after his father ran off with a neighbor’s wife just months after his birth. The plantation owner ordered the Robinsons off the land (“Jackie Robinson” 2). The Robinson family moved to California to seek a better life. By being the only black family on the block the Robinson kids were singled out as troublemakers (“Baseball” 1). The kids grew up with racism being a daily problem. Robinson once said “Pasadena treated us as intruders. My brother and I were in many a fight that started with a racial slur on the very street we lived on” (Robinson 1).
One of the major stands that were made during a black athlete’s tenure during his or her sport were their statements on racism. Racism in America was an ongoing situation in the 1900’s that seemed to have no resolve before black athletes took a stand. One prime example can be Jackie Robinson who became the first African-American athlete to play baseball in the modern era. Jackie grew up in one of the most racist towns in Pasadena, California and came from a poor family as his parents were sharecroppers and...
Muhammad Ali is an example of an athlete who voiced his political ideologies in sports to advocate for the Civil Rights Movement and protest the War. As an Olympic gold medalist, heavy weight titlist, and many other victories, he used the fame to project his humanitarian efforts. Ali refused to serve in Vietnam due to his religion and as a result, he was stripped of his 1967 title . He retired in 1981 with an incredible 59 wins and five losses, but he will always known as symbol of courage, will power and strength, not for his career milestones, but for breaking racia...