This week in black history

Jet, Dec 17, 2001

December 10, 1984 --

Desmond Tutu, former archbishop of the Anglican Church who headed the South African Council of Churches, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on this day. He received the award for his role as a unifying figure in helping to resolve the problems of apartheid in South Africa. Tutu was born on October 7, 1931, in Klerksdorp, Transvaal, South Africa. He was ordained an Anglican priest in 1960 and earned a bachelor of divinity in 1965 and a master of theology in 1966 from King's College in London. In 1994 Tutu published The Rainbow People: The Making of a Peaceful Revolution. He is currently archbishop emeritus of the Diocese of Cape Town, South Africa. He has received more than 25 honorary degrees from colleges and universities worldwide.

December 12, 1968 --

Arthur Ashe Jr., athlete, social activist and author, became the first Black man to be ranked No. 1 in tennis on this day. Born in Richmond, VA, on July 10, 1943, he was recognized early as a tennis prodigy. Ashe won a scholarship to UCLA in 1961 and graduated in 1966 with a B.S. in business. In 1968 after he won the U.S. Open, Ashe was ranked No. 1 by the United States Lawn Tennis Association (now USTA). He was a critic of racial injustice who authored A Hard Road To Glory: A History of the African American Athlete and Days of Grace. In 1985 Ashe became the first Black man inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. In 1992 Ashe announced he had AIDS, apparently contracted through a blood transfusion during an operation in 1983. He died on February 6, 1993.