The Influences In Arthur Ashe's Life

Melton McLaurin, in his book, “Separate Pasts,” recalls memories of growing up in his hometown of Wade, North Carolina. During this time, McLaurin works in his grandfather’s store in the segregated South. McLaurin writes of his interactions with the black community and observes the segregated lifestyle of black and whites. In his book “Separate Pasts,” McLaurin describes the black citizens of Wade that have influenced and changed his views of segregation and racism.

While attending school John did not only get good grades, he played basketball. The people in the African American culture in the 1960’s believed that the only way for a black person to get into college was to play sports for “the white man.” With many African Americans having this mind set, it pushed John to excel on

When he had arrived in Buffalo, Lewis’s first reaction to when they had finally reached his Uncle Otis’s home. “When we reached my Uncle O.C’s home and Dink’s house, I couldn’t believe it, They had white people living next door to them...on BOTH sides.” (Lewis and Aydin March Book 1: 43) Segregation in the north wasn’t a big deal to people in the north than it was in the south and from that he experienced a lot during that visit in the north. Once he had returned back home, he knew what was different now, he understood what the problem and differences were while he was up in Buffalo and at home. It came to him when school time was coming back around in the fall. “ In the fall, I started right the bus to school ,which should’ve been fun. But it was just another sad reminder of how different our lives were from those of white children.” (Lewis and Aydin March Book 1: 47) Between the black and white community, Lewis saw how “degrading” it was when it had came to school. They didn’t have the nice playground, the nicest bus, roads, and the ugly, sad sight of the prison full of black men and only black men, but he had managed to get pass all of the gloominess with a positive outlook of reading. “ I realized how old it was when we finally climbed onto the paved highway, the main road running east from Troy, and passed the white children’s buses..We drove past prison work gangs almost every day the prisoner were always

Ashe had a career filled with many ups and downs and faced considerable hardship playing tennis in an all white sport. He never relished his status as the sole black star in a game dominated by white players, but he didn't run away from it either. One such struggle he faced was his trip to South Africa. For many years Ashe had wanted to go to South Africa to play at the South African tennis championships, but every time he tried to gain a visa to travel there he was denied. Finally, in 1973 after much lobbying Ashe was awarded the opportunity to play in South Africa (Arthur Ashe Biography). This occasion was a giant step for not just for South Africa but for Ashe as he became the first African American to play in South Africa’s tennis championships. Amongst all the hate Ashe received from tennis he excelled against all odds and became a trailblazer for black people in tennis. Ashe’s legacy was composed of many firsts for an African American like becoming the first to win a Grand Slam, to be elected onto a US Davis Cup team and win one, in addition to becoming the first African American to be inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame (Carter). Ashe’s career was cut short from medical issues, but he continued to work in the sport becoming an activist for African Americans helping them to exceed in this all white society (Carter). At the young age of 49 Ashe died after his

Chester Alan Arthur was born on October 5, 1829, in Fairfield, Vermont. Arthur and his seven siblings lived in the United States and Canada during their childhood.

Louis Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Armstrong was born and raised in New Orleans he was the son of a prostitute and an absent father. Louis Armstrong grew up with his grandparents because his parents had separated and left him. His mother finally came back, but then left once more. Louis Armstrong grew up around music. He influenced jazz with his great voice and his great trumpet playing. On

Althea has seen prejudice and discrimination in the entirety of her lifetime despite the many titles and awards she was given. Her life began with the Great Migration and lasted till the Civil Rights Movement. Even though people were prejudice and discriminated against her, she overcame those obstacles. Althea will be remembered as one of the best in tennis for her outstanding performance.

The life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination… the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land (qtd. in W.T.L. 235).

For example,“Her accomplishments were revolutionary because of the impact on black America. She proved that blacks, when given an opportunity, could compete at any level in American society(Truong).” This quote not only shows that Althea proved what African American women could do but it opened doors for AA because without her incredible success and ability and opportunities to play at such high levels AA may not have the chance to compete at high levels like they can now. Second, since the beginning of Althea's career she had started to break barriers because “Back in the 1930s and '40s, when Ms. Gibson first started playing tennis, black players weren't allowed to compete against white players. But she was so good that she soon dominated the all-black tournament circuit.

One man changed the world of sports by becoming the first ever African American to ever play a professional sport as an African-American. Jackie Robinson affected the sporting world and it would not be the way it is today but it wasn't easy for him. Jackie Robinson started going to school young. He started to go to school at age three with his sister. His sister’s teachers were not happy that his sister brought him so he had to sit outside of the classroom during school.

Soon after winning the US Open, CBS brought him on the show not to discuss his athletic accomplishments, but his beliefs as an African-American activist. He spoke about the government's failure to enforce federal civil rights legislation and spoke about the Civil Rights and Voting Acts. While he embraced much of the black power movement, he also denounced the more radical parts of black nationalism. While people on all sides of the aisle lauded this singular performance for its intelligence and rationality, many criticized him for his views on civil rights. Ashe believed he was "doing it his own way," but many saw his mild-mannered responses to discrimination as cowardly, or even Uncle Tom-esque.

President Jimmy Carter was born October 1924 in a little town called Plains located in Georgia. As a young boy, he grew up in Archery a little nearby community and Jimmy Carter was drawn into farming just the same way his father James Earl

Cassius Marcellus Clay, now known as Muhammad Ali, was born in Louisville, Kentucky on January 17,1942. “He has shown throughout his life that he is not afraid of any fight—inside or outside the ring. Growing up in the segregated South, Ali experienced firsthand the prejudice and discrimination that

One of the biggest things that she pushed for in her career was equal pay for men and women in sports. This was a struggle for her as she had trouble paying for her tennis. In the early days of her playing she was not allowed in the picture of her first tennis club because she was not wearing the proper tennis skirt, but instead had on shorts. Her family did not have a lot of extra money to put into her expensive tennis career and it was hard for them to afford the elitists sport. She along with other women had to stand up and risk being band from the tennis league when they signed one dollar contracts with the Virginia Slims to bring attention to the struggle for equal play. It became apparent to Billy even from the young age that she was when she was not allowed in the picture because of her attire that women where not

He saw how his father become invisible to the injustice of black around him and he decided to get involved. He had a generativity concern on improving black people rights in the world around him (Newman & Newman, 2015). As a young boy, he would watch TV, read articles, and read books regarding what people are doing to change the way blacks are treated. His father would be disappointed and hope he would just stay away for the violence, abuse, and other activist groups. After high school, he went on to Fisk University to be involve in the Freeman Riders and later the Black Panthers. Along the journey, he was kicked, spit on, arrested, and even witness brutal killings and prayed that he would not be killed for his rights.