Event #2

I went to one of the Marshall Center lectures where Raymond O. Arsenault spoke. He is a professor of southern history at the University of Florida, St. Petersburg. He lectured on Author Ashe. He wrote a biography on Author Ashe. He wrote the first biography on him. Author Ashe was a great tennis player but Arsenault focused on him as a person. He was born in Richmond and was alive during the Jim Crow era. He was unable to stay in Richmond and left to go to Missouri.

He was the first African American to go on the mens tennis tour. He was alone during this time and was playing during the civil rights movement. He worked hard to integrate Richmond into the desegregation movement. He tried to get an African American hall of fame. He had to come out after his career and tell the public he had aides. He then became an aides activist. There is now the Author aides foundation.