To celebrate the 50th anniversary of tennis legend Arthur Ashe's graduation from UCLA, the UCLA Powell Library will be displaying the exhibit “Arthur Ashe: Athlete, Activist, Bruin” from April 15 to June 30 in the Powell Rotunda. UCLA Library Special Collections has assembled an impressive array of artifacts, letters and photographs from the university and the Los Angeles Times archives, as well as from two photographic collections: “Out of the Shadows” by Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, photographer and wife of Ashe; and “Arthur Ashe as an Amateur” by Rowland Scherman.
A dominant figure on and off the court, Ashe was the first African-American selected to the United States Davis Cup team. The three-time All-American won both the NCAA singles title and doubles title (with partner Ian Crookendon) in 1965, which helped UCLA win the NCAA team title that year. Professionally, Ashe went on to win more than 50 titles, including five Grand Slams (three singles titles and two doubles titles). In 1976, he peaked at No. 2 in the ATP World Rankings. Ashe was inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Hall of Fame in 1983 and into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame the following year. Recently, Pac-12 Networks named Ashe to the Pac-12 Men’s Tennis All-Century Team alongside fellow Bruin Jimmy Connors.
Ashe’s civic and social activism far transcended sports. Both during and after his playing career, Ashe worked to raise awareness of and protest against apartheid in South Africa and the U.S. policy toward Haitian refugees. He also used his celebrity status to educate the public about AIDS and to address health care deficiencies in urban minority populations.