Arthur Ashe: The Greatest Black Icon of American Sport? , CNN

Editor’s Note: new cnn movie “civil ashes” Explores the enduring legacy of tennis legend and humanitarian Arthur Ashe. It airs Sunday, June 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. This article has been updated to mark the beginning of the film.

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Tennis hero, inspiring role model for African Americans, social activist and high-profile campaigner for the HIV and AIDS communities, Arthur Ashe died in 1993, but it is a measure of his influence that, decades later, he will live forever. Shine like that.

The main stadium court at Flushing Meadows, where the US Open is staged, is named in his honour, an imposing statue of Ashe adorns the grounds, while Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day is a spectacular annual bash for the finals. Begins the fortnight. Grand Slam of the season.

Michelle Obama was the guest of honor in 2013, while Bradley Cooper, Carmelo Anthony, Justin Bieber and Will Ferrell have been included in an eclectic list of celebrities over the years.

Ashe’s widow, Jean Moutousamy Ashe, has made it her life’s work to ensure that the memory of her late husband is preserved for generations and that the president’s support is the icing on the cake.

“It is a matter of great pride to me that Arthur has raised his name for children who had no clue who he was,” he said on CNN’s Open Court program in 2013.

“It was such a great honor. I was born and raised on the south side of Chicago, as is Mrs. Obama, so it was so much fun sitting here with her daughters next to her.

“And that she supports the Arthur Ashe Learning Center so much and is so supportive of Arthur’s legacy. I don’t think we could have asked for a better position that day, it was awesome.

Moutoussamy Ashe was sharing her experiences with former US Davis Cup star James Blake, who retired from the ATP Tour in 2013.

Blake tells him that Ash has been his role model and inspiration growing up.

“Being an African American tennis player, he had a great influence on me and I wanted to follow in his footsteps, a man who went to college and was educated and was such a huge influence on the world,” he said. .

The impact that Blake talks about went far beyond the narrow confines of professional sport.

Ashe once famously said: “I don’t want to be remembered for my tennis achievements” and mouthwatering Ashe tries her level best to promote her desire.

“The game of tennis really gave him a platform to speak about issues he cared about a lot,” she said.

“I think he was a role model for a lot of kids, that’s why his legacy is so important to promote his legacy today.

“We don’t want an entire generation of kids today and generations to come to know that he’s more than a tennis player.”

Born in 1943, Ashe was brought up in the segregated South in Richmond, Virginia and first tested her tennis skills at a black-only playground in the city.

He developed his talents in high school and earned a tennis scholarship to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1963, becoming the first African American to represent the United States in the Davis Cup that year.

A member of the Reserve Officers Training Corp (ROTC), Ashe was eventually required to perform military service and spent three years at the United States Military Academy at West Point, rising to the rank of second lieutenant.

Ash was still a serving official when she won her first Grand Slam title at the 1968 US Open, the first of the Open Era when professionals were also allowed to compete.

“He was not the first African American man to win the US Open, but he was the first American to actually win the US Open because the US Open did not start until 1968,” Moutusamy Ashe insisted.

In 1969, Ashe was discharged from the military and turned professional after winning her second Grand Slam title at the 1970 Australian Open.

A prominent supporter of the American civil rights movement, Ashe’s political theories were put to the test when he was denied a visa by South Africa’s apartheid government to compete at its National Open later that year.

Ashe campaigned for South Africa to be expelled from the International Tennis Federation, but although his demands were not met, he was eventually granted a visa to compete at the 1973 South African Open, the first black male to do so.

Ashe continued to speak out against the apartheid regime and after Nelson Mandela was released after 27 years in prison, the tennis star returned to South Africa in 1991 as a member of the 31-strong delegation to witness profound political change in the country .

He met Mandela several times and said politely: “In comparison to Mandela’s sacrifice, my own life has been almost one of self-indulgence. When I think of him, my own political efforts seem small.

But others will disagree. Andrew Young, the former United States ambassador to the United Nations, once famously said of Ash: “He carried the burden of race and wore it as a cloak of dignity.”

Young, a pastor who became a prominent politician, presided over Ashe’s wedding to Jean in 1977, after they had met six months earlier at a charity event where Moutusamy Ashe was attending as a working photographer.

Ash was by then a three-time Grand Slam singles champion, having stunned top seed Jimmy Connors in the 1975 Wimbledon final, but it proved to be her last as injury and eventual illness took their toll.

When super fit Ash suffered a heart attack and underwent a bypass operation in 1979, the world was shocked.

He was set to return to the tennis tour when further complications arose and he was forced to announce his retirement, doing it in a generally dire fashion.

“He had about 30 letters he wrote personally to people, contracts he had, promises and commitments he made to people, he wrote to them personally and said: ‘I’m retiring and I Want you to be the first to know,'” recalled Moutusamy Ash.

In retirement, he took over as the captain of the United States Davis Cup team, but in 1983, he had to undergo a second round of heart surgery in New York.

During this operation, Ash is believed to have contracted the HIV virus from an infected blood transfusion.

He learned of the diagnosis in 1988 after another health scare, but in order to adopt their two-year-old daughter, Camara, Ash and his wife kept the illness private.

Only in 1992 was he forced to go public and, true to his ideals, began a campaign to debunk myths about AIDS and how to contract it.

He founded the Arthur Ashe Foundation to build on the work of an institution he established to promote public health.

Ash completed his memoir, “Days of Grace”, shortly before his death from AIDS-related pneumonia on February 6, 1993.

For Blake, the book was an inspiration. “As soon as I read ‘Days of Grace,’ it’s always been my answer to what is your favorite book of all time,” he told Moutusami Aish.

Young attended Ash’s funeral in Richmond, which was attended by thousands of mourners. He was buried with his mother, Matty, who died in 1950 when he was just six years old.

Later the year he died, Ashe was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton.

It was a series of high profile honors in recognition of a truly remarkable man, but for his widow, who has carried her torch for so many years now, it is her impact on communities and the younger generation that is so important.

“I think that if Arthur were here today, he would have promoted tennis at the grassroots level, drawing the metaphor that tennis is not only a sport, but more importantly, a profession that takes you through school.” To get through the college may be able to get the scholarship,” he said.

Others like Blake and Mal Washington Mouthsome Ashe has followed in Ashe’s footsteps in the male side of the men’s game, but mouthpiece Ashe is equally pleased with the influence of the Williams sisters on the African American game.

“Venus and Serena, I’m very proud of what they both are doing. Venus has challenges yet she is carrying on with her life and is still very involved in a game of tennis whenever she can.” Is.

“Serena has been in top form not only in tennis but as an individual during this particular US Open,” he said, reflecting on his 17th Grand Slam singles crown of world No.

Moutoussamy Ashe is hoping that the Arthur Ashe Learning Center, which houses a wealth of her own photographs and memorabilia from her life, can find a permanent home.

“It is really important that not only today’s generation but generations to come understand him as more than just an athlete, more than just a patient, just a student and a coach.

“That they will understand the importance of being a well-rounded person, that you may not be a great champion, but that if you are a well-rounded person, you can do anything to be successful in life. ”

Ash herself is the perfect example, battling an undercurrent of prejudice against her modest background and the pursuit of the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a person in the United States.

“Racism is no excuse not to do your best,” Ash said as he testifies eloquently to the truth of his words.