In January 1975, the National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year was a presidential commission established by President Gerald Ford. The purpose of the commission was to work in conjunction with the International Women’s Year proposed by the United Nations in 1972. Congress extended the work of the commission in 1977 with the election of President Jimmy Carter. Both Ford and Carter having different agendas with the exception of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as both presidents wished to see passed and ratified by congress. The commission planned and supported the National Women's Conference of 1977 in which 2000 delegates met to work on 26 resolutions of women’s rights which included: the ERA, reproductive rights, sexual orientation, education reform, child care funding, minority rights, and issues related to families.
The National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year published a report in 1977 in which they reviewed state laws. The state laws chosen to represent Virginia concerned the rights of married women, women who were widowed, and those that were divorced. The commission was specifically interested in the rights of women who fell into these categories who did not work outside of the home. The report covered such issues as property ownership of married, widowed, and divorced women as well as domestic violence, and divorce settlements. It is important to note that although the ERA was a driving force in the work of the commission and much was accomplished in bringing awareness to women’s rights issues, the ERA has yet to be ratified by congress.
Preview Activity
Scan It: Look at the document and scan it. Identify any words or phases that stand out. Why do you think those words or phrases stood out to you? Whay do they tell you about the topic of the document?
Post Activities
Analyze: What impression does this short excerpt give you about gender equality issues in Virginia in 1977? Why do you think the commission chose to focus on issues related to married, divorced, widowed women?
Up for Debate: The ERA has yet to ratified by congress. Write a paragraph in which you express whether or not you support the ratification of the ERA. Be sure to include specific reasons and explanations for your choice. Be prepared to share your paragraph with the class or in small groups.
Arthur Robert Ashe was a Black tennis player and human rights activist who became one of the greatest tennis players in American history. To date he is the first and only Black man to win the singles title in three of tennis' Grand Slam events, the U.S. Open (1968), the Australian Open (1970), and Wimbledon (1975) as well as the doubles title in the French Open (1971) and Australian Open (1977). Ashe was also the first Black male player on the U.S. Davis Cup team. He was given the prestigious title of Davis Cup captain. The photograph was taken at the 1970 Fidelity Banker Invitational Tennis Tournament Richmond Invitational Tennis Tournament at the height of Ashe’s tennis career.
Ashe was born on July 10, 1943 in Richmond, Virginia. He grew up in a segregated community. He was banned from playing and practicing on the city's tennis courts, which were only open to white players at that time. Ashe was, however, able to find coaches who were willing to assist in his development as a player, in both Richmond and Lynchburg, Virginia. Although he was banned from competing in many elite tennis competitions that were open to whites only, his talent did not go unseen. After graduating as valedictorian of his high school class, Ashe was offered a scholarship to play tennis at the University of California at Los Angeles. Ashe soared in academics and athletics during his time at UCLA. He helped his team win the national championship. After receiving a business degree from UCLA, Ashe joined the U.S Army and served for 2 years while still competing in professional tennis competitions.
As a well-known civil rights activist, Ashe was clear about his opposition to the apartheid system in South Africa which oppressed and suppressed Black South Africans. Ashe’s open criticism of the apartheid government led to his visa being denied when he applied to play in the 1970 South African Open. This only encouraged him to apply repeatedly for visas and to continue to speak out against apartheid. In 1973, Ashe was granted a visa to travel and play in the South African Open. He promptly won the title in doubles and finished second in the singles division. He would go on to win more championships and use his prominent role in tennis as a means to make social change.
Towards the end of his career Ashe suffered from heart problems. He retired from tennis with an overall record (Open era) of 33 titles. In retirement, Ashe focused his efforts on humanitarian work. He a sponsored an extensive research project resulting in a three-volume history, A Hard Road to Glory: A History of the African-American Athlete. Ashe's ongoing heart problems, however, necessitated multiple surgeries, including a blood transfusions. It was from the blood transfusions that Ashe contracted the HIV virus which causes AIDS. The HIV/ AIDS virus was not well known at the time, and research was only in the beginning stages. At the time Ashe contracted HIV, it was almost always a death sentence.
Ashe decided to keep his diagnosis private, but felt he had to share it publicly before USA Today ran a story on him having the virus. Following Ashe's announcement, he concentrated his efforts on research and education regarding HIV/AIDS. Ashe left a legacy not only in world of tennis, but also in the creation of Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health which still operates today. He also established the Virginia Heroes program which provides role models and mentors to middle school students in Richmond Public Schools.
Arthur Ashe died on February 6, 1993 in his hometown of Richmond, Virginia. Flags flew at half-mast and his casket lay in state in the Executive Mansion. To honor his life and legacy, the main stadium at the United States Tennis Center, home of the U.S. Open, in New York City is named Arthur Ashe Stadium. In Richmond, a statue is dedicated to him near the Virginia Fine Arts Museum and a major city thoroughfare was re-named Arthur Ashe Boulevard.
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the photograph; what is happening in the image? Why might have this event been important?
Post Activities
Analyze: Why would Ashe have separated himself from his ties to Richmond and Virginia for a long period of time? Consider how he was treated in his youth as an aspiring tennis player and what he had to go through to achieve his goal.
Current Connections: Is there a current athlete who you would identify as having broken down barriers in a similar way? If so, describe him or her.
Arthur Robert Ashe was a Black tennis player and human rights activist who became one of the greatest tennis players in American history. To date he is the first and only Black man to win the singles title in three of tennis' Grand Slam events, the U.S. Open (1968), the Australian Open (1970), and Wimbledon (1975) as well as the doubles title in the French Open (1971) and Australian Open (1977). Ashe was also the first Black male player on the U.S. Davis Cup team. He was given the prestigious title of Davis Cup captain. The photograph was taken at the 1971 Richmond Invitational Tennis Tournament at the height of Ashe’s tennis career.
Ashe was born on July 10, 1943 in Richmond, Virginia. He grew up in a segregated community. He banned from playing and practicing on the city's tennis courts, which were only open to white players at that time. Ashe was, however, able to find coaches who were willing to assist in his development as a player, in both Richmond and Lynchburg, Virginia. Although he was banned from competing in many elite tennis competitions that were open to whites only, his talent did not go unseen. After graduating as valedictorian of his high school class, Ashe was offered a scholarship to play tennis at the University of California at Los Angeles. Ashe soared in academics and athletics during his time at UCLA. He helped his team win the national championship. After receiving a business degree from UCLA, Ashe joined the U.S Army and served for 2 years while still competing in professional tennis competitions.
As a well-known civil rights activist, Ashe was clear about his opposition to the apartheid system in South Africa which oppressed and suppressed Black South Africans. Ashe’s open criticism of the Apartheid government led to his visa being denied when he applied to play in the 1970 South African Open. This only encouraged him to apply repeatedly for visas and to continue to speak out against apartheid. In 1973, Ashe was granted a visa to travel and play in the South African Open. He promptly won the title in doubles and finished second in the singles division. He would go on to win more championships and use his prominent role in tennis as a means to make social change.
Towards the end of his career Ashe suffered from heart problems. He retired from tennis with an overall record (Open era) of 33 titles. In retirement, Ashe focused his efforts on humanitarian work. He a sponsored an extensive research project resulting in a three-volume history, A Hard Road to Glory: A History of the African-American Athlete. Ashe's ongoing heart problems, however, necessitated multiple surgeries, including a blood transfusions. It was from the blood transfusions that Ashe contracted the HIV virus which causes AIDS. The HIV/ AIDS virus was not well known as the time and research was only in the beginning stages. At the time Ashe contracted HIV, it was almost always a death sentence.
Ashe decided to keep his diagnosis private, but felt he had to share it publicly before USA Today ran a story on him having the virus. Following Ashe's announcement, he concentrated his efforts on research and education regarding HIV/AIDS. Ashe left a legacy not only in world of tennis, but also in the creation of Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health which still operates today. He also established the Virginia Heroes program which provides role models and mentors to middle school students in Richmond Public Schools.
Arthur Ashe died on February 6, 1993 in his hometown of Richmond, Virginia. Flags flew at half-mast and his casket lay in state in the Executive Mansion. To honor his life and legacy, the main stadium at the Untitled States Tennis Center, home the US Open, in New York City is named Arthur Ashe Stadium. In Richmond, a statue is dedicated to him near the Virginia Fine Arts Museum and a major city thoroughfare was re-named Arthur Ashe Boulevard.
Citations: Arthur Ashe—Arthur Ashe at serve, Central Fidelity Bank Invitational Tennis Tournament, 1971 Robert Hart Photograph Collection. Manuscripts & Special Collections, Visual Studies Collection, Library of Virginia. Arthur Ashe. In Virginia Memory. Retrieved From http://www.virginiamemory.com/online_classroom/lesson_plans/arthur_ashe [viewed 2 September 2015]
Kneebone, John T. "Ashe, Arthur Robert." Dictionary of Virginia Biography, Vol. 1:226-228. John T. Kneebone, J. Jefferson Looney, Brent Tarter, and Sandra Gioia Treadway, editors. Richmond, VA: The Library of Virginia,1998.
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the photograph, what is happening in the image? Why might have this event been important?
Post Activities
Analyze: How did Arthur Ashe leverage his popularity to become a voice for civil rights and early HIV/AIDS research? What other skills did he have which may have been relevant to his success? Explain.
Current Connections: HIV/AIDS is a virus that was not well understood in the early 1990’s. Considering the recent Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, has our collective understanding of how viruses operate changed? Why is more research needed to address viruses like HIV still needed? Explain.
Social Media Spin: create a social media to describe the drama and excitement of this photo. Use detail from events in Ashe’s life in the post.
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the document, what is the purpose of the album?
Post Activities
Be the Journalist: You are a journalism student writing a short article on the impacts of 9/11. What fact would you include? How would describe the damage to the Pentagon to individuals who might not have seen the actual event unfold?
Current Connections: Now, many years after the events of September 11, is there another event that you would want memorialized in the same way? Why or why not?
Lawrence Douglas Wilder (1931–) was sworn in as governor of Virginia on January 13, 1990. Wilder, a grandson of enslaved peoples, made history in 1985 when he became the first Black person elected to statewide office in Virginia.
Wilder was a student in Richmond's racially segregated public schools. He attended George Mason Elementary and Armstrong High School. In 1951, he graduated from Virginia Union University with a degree in chemistry. After college, he served in the army during the Korean War. He won the Bronze Star for heroism in combat. After the war, Wilder returned to Richmond and worked in the state medical examiner's office as a chemist. He went on to study law at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He received his degree Juris Doctor in 1959. After passing the bar examination in Virginia, he established his own law firm, Wilder, Gregory, and Associates. Wilder entered politics in 1969, running in a special election for the Virginia State Senate. He became the first Black state senator in the state since the Reconstruction era. He was sworn in as lieutenant governor in 1986. In 1990, he became the nation's first elected Black governor serving from 1990 until 1994.
The photograph shows the swearing in ceremony when Wilder became the 66th Governor of Virginia. Witnesses to the inauguration were the new governor's daughter, son, and daughter-in-law, flanking him in the photo. Retired United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Lewis F. Powell (1907–1998) administered the oath of office, and behind Wilder is retiring Virginia Governor Gerald L. Baliles (1940–).
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the photograph, what is happening in the image? Why might have this event been important?
Post Activities
Art Exploration: Design a poster or button to commemorate the anniversary of the event.
Social Media Spin: Create s social media post to describe Douglas Wilder and the historic nature of this event.
Current Connections: Wilder’s election was the first of its kind in Virginia. Are there any other elections in which the winning candidate for office broke boundaries? Your responses can be based on state, national, or international examples.
At the close of the Civil War and after the passing of the Fifteenth Amendment, all male citizens, regardless of their race or previous status, were supposed to be able to vote. However, many states, including Virginia, found ways to exclude Black men from voting in spite of having this right. In 1965, these discriminatory practices were outlawed under the federal Voting Rights Acts which allowed many Black Americans to vote for the first time.
It was a challenge to get all eligible voters to the polls in many communities as polling stations were often located in difficult to access areas. In order to promote the importance of registering to vote this poster, created in 1970, invokes the name of Civil Rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Advertisement campaigns using this type of imagery were not uncommon and were often effective reminders of the importance of having the right to vote.
Social Studies: VS.1, VS.8, VS.9, USII.1, USII.3, USII.4, USII.9, CE.1, CE.3, VUS.1, VUS.7, VUS.14, GOVT.1, GOVT.18, GOVT.19
Art: 4.1, 5.1
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the broadside, what might have been the intent of this broadside poster?
Post Activities
Analyze: Civil Rights icon and leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated two years before this poster was printed. To what extent is using his name important in the drive for voter registration?
Artistic Exploration: Make a voting registration poster with the image of a notable person. Who did you choose and why?