From Segregated Courts to Center Court: Teaching Kids About Arthur Ashe
Arthur wasn’t just a tennis star—he was also a scholar and activist.
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If this is your first article with us, please be sure to check out our series on Parenting Under Fascism. And, as we see this government seek to expand their harm in D.C. and other places around the country, if you’re thinking about taking action with your kiddos, you might want to read our series on the Do’s And Don’ts of Protesting With Kids.
Today’s article is a bit on the lighter side. As parents, we always aim to balance raising kids who are aware of and taking action on the social issues around them while teaching them that joy is theirs to claim in a variety of ways. One thing we’re not going to do is let anyone steal our ability to find joy, celebrate our ancestors and be in community with each other.
So, how do we do this while explaining to our kids the harmful impact that systemic racism had and continues to have on every system around us? That it permeates every aspect of our society, our institutions, and our history? And that we have to actively take action to undo the damage? One way to begin is to use real world examples of overt racism, unequal systems, and antiracist resistance. Many kids are huge sports fans. Sports offer many examples, and with the US Open starting in NYC this weekend, we jumped at the chance to learn about the examples of Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson.
Our family paid homage to legendary athlete Arthur Ashe at the US Open’s Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day with La Roche-Posay, a free event open to the public. We also got the chance to learn with our kids about Althea Gibson, whose legacy is being celebrated this US Open in a variety of ways, including a Marvel comic with the Fantastic Four.
In our work, we stress the importance of Intentional Environment as one of the 6 Building Blocks of Antiracist ParentingTM so we loved merging our children’s love for sports and movement with lessons on equity and racial justice through a real life activity. We used this as an opportunity to bring lessons about Arthur Ashe’s legacy to life for our little ones.
Arthur Ashe was a prolific and legendary Black tennis player who broke many racial barriers on the path to excelling in his career. Through his advocacy, his life, his words and his legacy, he remains an example for all about the power of unapologetic courage in the face of injustice. He was also passionate about getting kids excited about tennis, hence naming a day of games, learning, and fun after this influential figure.
Here are 10 things every kid should know about Arthur Ashe.
Arthur Ashe was the first Black man to win Wimbledon.
Teaching us that we can be several things all at once, Arthur was an athlete, writer, activist and scholar.
When Arthur first began playing tennis, he maintained straight A’s and read voraciously (though we want to add a reminder that academic prowess is not a marker of success for everyone).
At age 15, he played his first integrated tennis competition against white opponents.
His lifelong coach and mentor also coached Althea Gibson, the only other African American competing in world tennis at that time.
Arthur Ashe was denied a visa to go to South Africa for many years and worked very hard on fighting the apartheid.
Arthur took his life experiences and used them to bring awareness to different injustices like the South African apartheid, the AIDS crisis, and segregation in the United States.
Arthur was arrested while protesting outside the White House for fighting against U.S. policy toward Haitian refugees.
As a writer, Arthur told the story of his life on his terms, even when he fell ill with HIV from a blood transfusion, and fought against the stigma of having HIV: “I do not like being the personification of a problem, much less a problem involving a killer disease, but I know I must seize these opportunities to spread the word.”.
When Nelson Mandela, a political prisoner of the South African government for 27 years, was first set free, he was asked who in the U.S. he wished to have visit. He said, “How about Arthur Ashe?”
Ashe’s story and legacy remains an example for kids (and adults!) everywhere.
We had a really fun time at the event. A few highlights were visiting the Arthur Ashe Learning Center and watching our son try his hand at simulated tennis at the La Roche-Posay booth.
WATCH & LEARN TOGETHER
Check out this clip from PBS’s Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum about Arthur.
Learn more about Arthur using this 4 minute kids video.
Watch with your kids and ask open-ended questions like “What do you think about Arthur not being able to play tennis wherever he deserved to play?”.
Keep the conversation going by borrowing kids’ books from your library about Arthur and about racism and injustice in sports.
That’s it from us for today. Try to sneak in some time outside, if you can. As the social media folks say “Touch grass”.
Take good care, ok?
Tabitha & Adam