Richmond leaders approve renaming street after Arthur Ashe

RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond City Council has approved a proposal to rename a historic street after tennis champion Arthur Ashe Jr.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that on Monday the council backed an ordinance renaming Boulevard after Richmond native Ashe. He was the first black player selected to the U.S. Davis Cup team and the only black man to ever win the singles title at the U.S. Open, Wimbledon and the Australian Open.

Ashe was also a well-known philanthropist who promoted education and civil rights.

The vote came amid turmoil after Gov. Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark Herring admitted wearing blackface in the 1980s.

Ashe’s once-segregated hometown has an athletic centre named after him and a sculpture of him. But proposals to rename a street for him have been defeated multiple times since Ashe’s 1993 death.