LEADERSHIP IN SOUTH AFRICA
"That trip was the start of a change in South Africa - very small change... It was one small act that would have a much bigger impact."
-Ray Moore, former South African tennis player
Source: Charging the Net, Cecil Harris and Larryette Kyle-DeBose
In 1973, after being denied his visa several times, Ashe was granted permission to visit South Africa. By participating in the South African Open in 1973 and becoming the first black man to win it, Arthur Ashe made a huge dent in the power of apartheid.
"Arthur, you have done the right thing to come here, because you have shown our black children that a black man can succeed in a white world."
- Don Matera, South African poet and activist
Source: Charging the Net by Cecil Harris and Larryette Kyle-DeBose
Ashe in Soweto, SA, 1973 - Source: NY Times
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"During his trip to South Africa, Ashe met with a professor at one of the nation's top universities. The professor was impressed that Ashe, a black man, was so well spoken. "You are an exception", he told Ashe, "you are not completely black; you have some white blood in you". Ashe recalled being shocked that an educated man could believe apartheid was just and moral." |
Impact
Arthur Ashe's trip to South Africa raised awareness of apartheid. He took a stand against apartheid. He participated in protests, gave speeches to the United Nations and cofounded a group called Artists and Athletes Against Apartheid.
"The impact of his trip and his later visit in 1974 to meet Nelson Mandela, then imprisoned on Robben Island, cannot be overestimated. After being released from prison, he was asked if there was anyone from the United States he would like to see. He said, “How about Arthur Ashe?”" |
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