Role Models
Arthur Ashe is a role model to many. As a humanitarian, tennis champion, civil rights activist, and author, he had many role models who guided and inspired him. The first role model he acknowledges is his father, Arthur Ashe Sr. Arthur was just six years old when his mother, Mattie, died, and his father promised he would take care of Arthur and his brother, Johnnie. Arthur would recount, “My father was a strong, dutiful, providing man. He lived and died semi-literate, but he owned his own home and held jobs that were important to him and to people in the community where we lived. His love and his caring were real to me… From that time on (when his mother died), he was father and mother to us. And the lesson he taught above all was about reputation. ‘What people think of you, Arthur Junior, your reputation, is all that counts.’ (Days of Grace, p. 3)
Another person Arthur admired was Jackie Robinson. Many times he would tell others that he wanted to be the “Jackie Robinson of tennis”, to break the color barrier in the sport of tennis, like Jackie Robinson did for major league baseball. Arthur also admired Robinson for his approach to fighting for civil rights. Robinson shared the same life experiences as Arthur: growing up in a segregated society where you were denied certain rights because of your skin color and where you had to know your “place” or suffer cruel and sometimes life-threatening consequences. Despite this, Jackie taught Arthur the importance of being composed and graceful under pressure, of never compromising your dignity, and of persevering even in the face of adversity and injustice, both on and off the playing field. Arthur adopted Jackie’s commitment to use his platform as a sports icon to drive societal change. In later years, Jackie expressed his mutual respect for Arthur after he won the 1968 U.S. Open, the first Black man to do so, by sending him a telegram that read, “Proud of your greatness as a tennis player. Prouder of your greatness as a man. Your stand should bridge the gap between races and inspire black people the world over and also affect the decency of all Americans.” (Arthur Ashe Activity Book)
Learning and Leadership Activities
Who Do You Admire?
Create a list of people you admire and why. Share your thoughts with a partner or small group.
What did you learn about role models as you shared your lists?
How have role models influenced your actions or values?
Why is it important to choose role models carefully?
What kind of role model do you want to be?
Now, visualize how you would like to serve as a role model in your family, community, nation, and world. What are you doing now to prepare yourself for this? Brainstorm some ideas with a partner, family member, mentor, and create a plan of how you will develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to be the role model you want to become.
Role Model Profiles
With your group, share the names of well-known figures from your community, your nation, or the world. In small groups, discuss the names shared using these questions to begin the conversation:
Why are these people admired?
What qualities do they demonstrate?
Are there any controversies or flaws in this person? How do those affect your view of them?
Share your small group discussion with the larger group to compare ideas and perspectives.
Role Model Sorting Challenge
Make a list of character traits (e.g., kind, wealthy, brave, famous, fair, stylish, honest). Share your list with 2-3 partners and add traits to your list. Then, sort the traits into three categories: Essential, Nice to Have, and Not Required for a role model. Next, draw these traits onto a poster in any form you like. You might consider creating an outline of a person and placing words, images, and quotes inside and around it. Or, you could use an icon or image to serve as a metaphor for what you would like to demonstrate as qualities of a role model (e.g., a strong tree, a cloud, a train). You might also consider creating a mural with images and keywords about what role models are, do, and believe.
Reflect, Discuss, Write
Reflect on this quote by Arthur, “True heroism is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.”
What does this quote mean to you?
How might you put these ideas into action?
What examples can you identify from the role model sort that best demonstrate what Arthur was trying to convey about service and leadership?
Who can you partner with, align with, to help guide you as you practice putting the role model traits you deem most important into action?