I was watching Wimbledon the other day and there was, as often happens, a rain delay. The station was well prepared, having a variety of historical videos to play during these times. This particular video was about Arthur Ashe, who won the tournament in 1974. He was the first black tennis player to win there, as well as being the first black player on the US Davis Cup team. During the video, Ashe spoke about the motivation he got from being barred entrance into a tennis tournament in his hometown of Richmond, VA. It was a reminder to me that, regardless of what some racism deniers say, this country had systems made to keep non-whites and women from fully participating in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Ashe persisted; he fought the law and the law didn’t win.
Richmond was the capitol of the Confederacy, and for many years, they proudly and belligerently displayed statues of their traitorous heroes in the center of the city. In 2020, the city decided to address the wrongs of having traitors so prominently placed for all to see, and they removed the statues of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, J.E.B. Stuart, Jefferson Davis, and Matthew Fontaine Maury. In their place was erected a statue of Arthur Ashe, a true American hero. Ashe contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion, and in the same way that he fought for his right to play tennis, he fought for funding and research, raising money to help others. Ashe died in 1993 at the age of 50.
There are a lot of people in public life who think they are special; they might be actors or athletes or politicians, and maybe some of them are special. They aren’t heroic because of their God-given talents or the way they work to be better; they are heroic when they live beyond themselves, helping others. Rich or poor, black or white or brown, straight or not, male or female or transgender; these labels are not heroic, they are who we are. Going beyond what is expected is, to me, what makes someone a hero. You and I can be heroes as well. Arthur Ashe was one of those heroes, and the city of Richmond knows it. And so should we.
Prayer – Holy God, thank You for giving us the spark to do more than live for ourselves. May each one of us make today a good day for someone in need. Amen.
Today’s art the statue of Arthur Ashe, sculpted by Paul DiPasquale.