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[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 624 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

<DOC>

115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 624

Commemorating Arthur Ashe, a native of Richmond, Virginia, on the 50th 
     anniversary of his historic win at the 1968 U.S. Open Tennis 
   Championship and honoring his humanitarian contributions to civil 
rights, education, the movement against apartheid in South Africa, and 
                          HIV/AIDS awareness.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 6, 2018

   Mr. Kaine (for himself, Mr. Warner, Mrs. Capito, and Mr. Booker) 
 submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
Commemorating Arthur Ashe, a native of Richmond, Virginia, on the 50th 
     anniversary of his historic win at the 1968 U.S. Open Tennis 
   Championship and honoring his humanitarian contributions to civil 
rights, education, the movement against apartheid in South Africa, and 
                          HIV/AIDS awareness.

Whereas Arthur Ashe won the U.S. Open Tennis Championship on September 9, 1968, 
        in the first year the tournament was open to professionals, while he was 
        on active duty based at the United States Military Academy, also known 
        as West Point;
Whereas Arthur Ashe's victory, following his amateur U.S. National Championship 
        title two weeks earlier, marked the first time an African-American man 
        won a major title;
Whereas Arthur Ashe was born in Richmond, Virginia, on July 10, 1943, and raised 
        by his widowed father in a house on the grounds of Brook Field, the 
        largest playground for blacks in Richmond, the segregated capital of the 
        former Confederacy;
Whereas Arthur Ashe first learned to play tennis at 7 years old and showed 
        enough talent to later receive coaching and guidance from Dr. Robert 
        Walter Johnson, a pioneer for black tennis players;
Whereas, although prohibited in Richmond from competing in tournaments and 
        practicing at municipal indoor courts because of segregation, Arthur 
        Ashe won the National Junior Indoor tennis title, becoming the first 
        African-American male to do so and earning a scholarship in 1963 to play 
        tennis at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he 
        joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps;
Whereas Arthur Ashe graduated from UCLA with a bachelor's degree in Business 
        Administration and was assigned to West Point by the United States Army, 
        where he earned promotions to first lieutenant and also led the tennis 
        program;
Whereas the amateur and professional tennis accomplishments of Arthur Ashe 
        included National Collegiate Athletic Association singles and doubles 
        titles, the Australian Open title in 1970, and the Wimbledon title in 
        1975;
Whereas Arthur Ashe became the first black player selected to the Davis Cup team 
        for the United States, which he later coached;
Whereas Arthur Ashe's accomplishments on the tennis court gave him a platform to 
        pursue social justice during a turbulent time in the civil rights era;
Whereas Arthur Ashe's activism included efforts to end apartheid in South 
        Africa;
Whereas Arthur Ashe pushed for, and eventually earned, a visa to play in the 
        National Championships in South Africa in 1973;
Whereas Arthur Ashe was arrested twice, first for protesting outside the Embassy 
        of South Africa in Washington, D.C., and later for protesting the 
        repatriation of Haitian refugees by the United States Government;
Whereas Arthur Ashe researched the history of African-American athletics and 
        published a groundbreaking book, ``Hard Road to Glory: A History of the 
        African-American Athlete'', celebrating the accomplishments of heroes 
        known and unknown;
Whereas after suffering a heart attack in 1979 and contracting HIV/AIDS as a 
        result of a blood transfusion, Arthur Ashe resolved to educate the 
        people of the United States and the world about the disease and 
        advocated for more resources to end an epidemic that disproportionately 
        affected marginalized communities, including communities of color;
Whereas Arthur Ashe succumbed to complications from HIV/AIDS and died on 
        February 6, 1993, and became the first African American to lie in state 
        at the Governor's Mansion in Richmond; and
Whereas President Bill Clinton posthumously awarded Arthur Ashe the Presidential 
        Medal of Freedom on June 20, 1993, and the Richmond City Council voted 
        unanimously to erect a statue on historic Monument Avenue to honor his 
        achievements: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) honors Arthur Ashe, a native of Richmond, Virginia, on 
        the 50th anniversary of his historic win at the U.S. Open 
        Tennis Championship; and
            (2) celebrates his contributions to education, scholarship, 
        the anti-apartheid movement, and HIV/AIDS awareness.
                                 <all>
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