Citizen Ashe

 

Citizen Ashe is a biography of Arthur Ashe, a professional tennis player turned activist. Ashe was one of the first black professional tennis players and was a trailblazer (along with Althea Gibson) for other  black people to participate in a sport predominately played by rich white people. But he was not always an activist. This documentary interviews several of his friends and contemporaries, and includes footage of Ashe himself, speaking about his growth both as a tennis player and as an advocate for the rights of black people around the world and for HIV/AIDS awareness.

Released 2021; Runtime 94 minutes

Concepts

• Race & Ethnicity Issues: Early in Ashe's career, despite facing racism (particularly in the South, where he was from), he largely shied against calling it out. It was not until he experienced success on the court that he started to feel more comfortable speaking out, but once he began, he did not stop calling it out for the rest of his life.
• Political Issues: Given Ashe's career largely took place in the 1960s and 1970s, it overlapped with the civil rights movement in the United States. The politics of the movement are touched on, as well as Ashe's relationship to the movement. Ashe also became a prominent opponent of South Africa's apartheid government.
• Sportsmanship: Part of the reason why Ashe was reluctant to involve himself with activism was due to how he wanted to be perceived on the court, as above reproach. This also surfaces in the latter part of his professional career playing against Jimmy Connors and coaching John McEnroe, two players known for bringing a less-than-polite approach to the game.
• Confidence: Regarding his professional career, Ashe describes how important confidence is to his performance, stating that he can only play as well as his confidence allows.