(Original Caption) Left to right are Gregory Hines, Tony Randall, Arthur Ashe, Ruby Dee, Randall Robinson, Ossie Davis, and Harry Belafonte, speaking at a press conference to announce Artists and Athletes Against Apartheid at the United Nations building.
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Tennis great Arthur Ashe Jr. and civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. never met. Yet their legacies will be linked through a partnership between the United States Tennis Association Foundation and Martin Luther King III Foundation’s Realize the Dream initiative.
This week, the organizations announced a partnership that includes a nationwide campaign to fulfill 100 million hours of service by January 29, 2029, when the slain civil rights leader would have celebrated his 100th birthday.
The USTAF seeks to commit 800,000 hours towards that goal through the National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) network, co-founded in 1969 by Ashe, Charlie Pasarell, and Sheridan Snyder. The NJTL network includes more than 270 community organizations nationwide that help prepare young people from under-resourced communities to succeed in life through tennis, education and mentorship, scholarships, and college and career-readiness programs. The NJTL shaped the careers of professional tennis players Frances Tiafoe and Hailey Baptiste.
“Service was never meant to be symbolic,” said Martin Luther King III via a USTAF press release. “My father believed it was a powerful way to build dignity, opportunity, and unity. Through this partnership with the USTA Foundation, we are turning everyday moments into meaningful action and helping young people build stronger futures through service.”
Through Realize the Dream, Martin Luther King III calls on people everywhere to turn small moments into acts of service that strengthen communities and honor his father’s legacy.
The USTAF answered the call by completing more than 500,000 volunteer service hours in 2025. The USTAF has committed to reaching 800,000 hours by the end of 2026.
“In June, we are curating 100 volunteer service opportunities across our NJTL network in recognition of Juneteenth and in support of Realize the Dream,” said Robert Howland, Head of Programming and Impact at the USTA Foundation. “We see this as more than a campaign — it is a call to action for staff, partners, and community leaders nationwide. By uniting the legacies of Arthur Ashe and Dr. King through service, we invest in education, mentorship, and opportunity for young people across the country.”
Arthur Ashe And Martin Luther King Jr. Shared Activism
(Original Caption) June 12, 1962-St. Augustine, Florida: Dr. Martin Luther King peers between the bars of his jail cell at the St. John’s County Jail here on June 11th shortly after he and other integration demonstrators were arrested on trespass charges at a local motel.
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Both born in the South and raised under Jim Crow laws, Ashe and King chose different vocations but took similar approaches to activism.
King preached from podiums and pulpits. Ashe lobbied for players’ rights on the ATP Tour and fought social injustice.
Non-violent protests were the hallmark of King’s leadership during the Civil Rights Movement. He led boycotts, sit-ins, and marches throughout the South. Similarly, Ashe led peaceful protests against apartheid in South Africa.
They both stood up against government-sponsored injustices and were arrested during protests. King was arrested more than 20 times for civil disobedience. Ashe was arrested in 1985 during a protest outside the South African embassy in Washington, D.C. In 1992, a year before his death, Ashe was arrested outside the White House while protesting the U.S. policy toward Haitian refugees.
In February 1968, King wrote to Ashe, then a lieutenant at West Point. Although Ashe had yet to win a Major, King recognized the tennis player’s position of authority and praised his commitment to the Civil Rights movement. King wrote that he looked forward to meeting Ashe. However, the civil rights leader was assassinated two months later.
View of American tennis player Arthur Ashe (1943 – 1993) (in dark blue shirt) and singer Harry Belafonte (in white ‘USA for Africa’ sweatshirt), among others, as they march during a demonstration (against US support of apartheid in South Africa) outside the United Nations, New York, New York, August 1985. Visible signs in background read ‘Impeach Reagan’ and ‘End All US Support to Apartheid Terror.’ (Photo by Nik Kleinberg/Getty Images)
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Arthur Ashe And Martin Luther King Memorialized
Virginia, Richmond, Monument Avenue, statue of Tennis Player Arthur Ashe. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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King and Ashe are memorialized in their hometowns and beyond.
As part of a mini-documentary, Paul Dipasquale, the sculptor who designed the Ashe monument in Richmond, Virginia, spoke about a conversation he had with the tennis great a few weeks before his death. Dipasquale said he asked Ashe how he wanted to be remembered.
“I would like children to be involved in some way, either one child or several children; children are our future,” Dipasquale said Ashe told him. “I want books to be showcased. I want the message to be that knowledge is power. And my shoelaces would be untied — And I suppose a tennis racket should be in there somewhere.”
Ashe was the first African American to receive a moment on Richmond’s Monument Avenue.
The statue Soul in Flight: A Memorial to Arthur Ashe is located between Arthur Ashe Stadium and Corona Park at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows.
ATLANTA – JULY 17: Tombs of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change on July 17, 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
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The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is in Washington, D.C. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta is where King and his wife Coretta Scott King are entombed. The center is a must-see stop part of any Civil Rights roadtrip. A statue of Martin Luther King Jr. is featured among ten 20th-century Christian martyrs above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey in London.
Now, Ashe and King’s legacies are linked by organizations with missions rooted in service to community. Martin Luther King III founded Realize the Dream to ignite community service. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy includes a federal holiday often celebrated with a day of service.
“This partnership is rooted in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s call to serve others and promote positive change. These ideals were also central to the life of tennis icon and NJTL network co-founder Arthur Ashe, who believed that progress is built through service, opportunity, and respect for others,” said USTA Foundation CEO Ginny Ehrlich. “This work with ‘Realize the Dream’ and the King family is a natural extension of those values, and we are proud to honor the legacies of both men by creating meaningful opportunities for young people and communities to thrive.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/merlisalawrencecorbett/2026/02/27/martin-luther-king-jr-and-arthur-ashe-legacies-linked-through-service/


