U. S. OPEN TENNIS TOURNAMENT
BERNIE CHAVIS SHOWING LOVE-LOVE & LOVE
On September 3, 2008 a former hoop star turned amateur tennis player Bernie Chavis will make history as an author on the hollow grounds of the U. S. Tennis Open. Bernie is a native Washingtonian who now lives in the suburb of Meadowbrook, Pa. He will showcase and autograph his new book titled “The Games of Tennis-An African American Journey (Breaking Racial Cultural Barriers in Tennis and---Society).”
His journey is far from his roots as an outstanding all-around athlete in the DC Public schools of Washington, DC. Bernie was All-Met in football and basketball at Eastern High School. He parlayed his athletic skills into a basketball scholarship to Villanova University in Philadelphia. The city of brotherly love has been home ever since.
His remarkable journey into the elitist World of tennis takes a hard an objective view of the not too friendly love affair between blacks and whites. Despite the groundbreaking efforts of tennis greats Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe in the 50’s and 60’s “LOVE” has nothing to do with it.
Unlike most outstanding athletes who are born with that competitive spirit Bernie knew when to quit. When he discovered he could no longer run and jump with the young boys on the talented rich basketball courts of Philadelphia he walked away. His next court would be a tennis court. It was there he could apply the same techniques that made him an outstanding basketball player to play at the highest level capable—foot work and hand and eye coordination. He fell head over heels in love with the game. The most enjoyable aspect of his new World, he could compete and play with men his own age. Once on the tennis scene he discovered the many doors that were closed to people of color on the other side of the net.
Bernie remembered growing up in a segregated Washington, DC (the Nation’s Capitol). He never forgot the second class citizenship experiences of his hometown. He says, “One of my first recollections highlighting the impact racism concerned the Howard Theater, the most popular movie and entertainment center in Washington’s black community.”
He had a difficult time trying to figure out why was it that white folks could flock to one of the busiest sections of the black community and have an All-Access Pass but he was forbidden from entering any of “their” establishments anywhere in the city.
Bernie’s childhood friend and my high school teammate, Spotswood Bolling, Jr. was a part of a landmark decision handed down by the U. S. Supreme Court in 1954. He was a part of the Brown vs Board of Education decision. The decision was Bolling vs Sharpe and ruled upon on the same day by the same Supreme Court.
There were two different decisions made because Brown vs Board of Education was national and Bolling vs Sharpe was to insure desegregation locally. DC then as now had no Congressional Representation it is still called “the plantation on the Potomac.”
In the early1980s shortly after turning to tennis as an alternate athletic outlet, Bernie discovered “The more things changed the more they remained the same.” While playing tennis at the Garden Fair Tennis Club located near his home he developed a personal friendship with the manager of the facility, Bob Fossler. One day Mr. Fossler indicated to Bernie that all the tennis boards he was involved had begun to seriously discuss the need to diversify the composition of their organizations and to engage people of color. Remember this is almost 40 years after Jackie Robinson and Athea Gibson made their professional debuts.
He then invited Bernie to be a member of one of those boards. Upon his recommendation Bernie submitted his application and was accepted. His membership placed him on the Board of the United States Tennis Association Middle States Philadelphia Area Tennis District. Thus began his roller coaster ride inside the sport of tennis’s dark and blind side.
Bernie joining the USTA was just appetizer, he has served as National President of the American Tennis Association (ATA), the oldest African American sports organization in America. President of the U. S. Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) in the Middles States Section. He would later be named the first black to serve as President of the USTA Philadelphia Area Tennis District (1994) and the first to referee a USTA national championship tournament, the Men’s Senior Grass Court Championships at the Germantown Cricket club in Philadelphia. In 2005 he was named a “Living American History Maker” by the Berean Institute of Philadelphia. Like Frank Sinatra, Bernie has taken the blows and did his way.
I would love to be a book on the shelf to witness and capture the re-actions of friends and foe during the signing. The more interesting moments will be to see if any of today’s black tennis stars and future black stars show up to support his courageous effort to make their paths easier. Richard Williams the father of tennis stars Venus and Serena will be the first in line and I am betting his daughters won’t be far behind. On the other hand James Blake the bridesmaid of the men’s tour will distant himself until he sees the William sisters purchase their first book. His advisors will caution him to keep his distant.
The Games of Tennis-An African American Journey is a must read for every person of color who thinks that they have arrived and that includes parents, teachers, coaches and all advocates of children who claim they are making children first.
The book reflects the thinking of America and how it really feels about people of color. During Bernie’s journey he discovered that every black face he saw was not his brother and every white face was not the enemy. He has never forgotten that it was all white men who made the decision of Brown vs Board of Education and Bolling vs Sharpe. Their decision was based on Love-Love and Love.
His journey is far from his roots as an outstanding all-around athlete in the DC Public schools of Washington, DC. Bernie was All-Met in football and basketball at Eastern High School. He parlayed his athletic skills into a basketball scholarship to Villanova University in Philadelphia. The city of brotherly love has been home ever since.
His remarkable journey into the elitist World of tennis takes a hard an objective view of the not too friendly love affair between blacks and whites. Despite the groundbreaking efforts of tennis greats Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe in the 50’s and 60’s “LOVE” has nothing to do with it.
Unlike most outstanding athletes who are born with that competitive spirit Bernie knew when to quit. When he discovered he could no longer run and jump with the young boys on the talented rich basketball courts of Philadelphia he walked away. His next court would be a tennis court. It was there he could apply the same techniques that made him an outstanding basketball player to play at the highest level capable—foot work and hand and eye coordination. He fell head over heels in love with the game. The most enjoyable aspect of his new World, he could compete and play with men his own age. Once on the tennis scene he discovered the many doors that were closed to people of color on the other side of the net.
Bernie remembered growing up in a segregated Washington, DC (the Nation’s Capitol). He never forgot the second class citizenship experiences of his hometown. He says, “One of my first recollections highlighting the impact racism concerned the Howard Theater, the most popular movie and entertainment center in Washington’s black community.”
He had a difficult time trying to figure out why was it that white folks could flock to one of the busiest sections of the black community and have an All-Access Pass but he was forbidden from entering any of “their” establishments anywhere in the city.
Bernie’s childhood friend and my high school teammate, Spotswood Bolling, Jr. was a part of a landmark decision handed down by the U. S. Supreme Court in 1954. He was a part of the Brown vs Board of Education decision. The decision was Bolling vs Sharpe and ruled upon on the same day by the same Supreme Court.
There were two different decisions made because Brown vs Board of Education was national and Bolling vs Sharpe was to insure desegregation locally. DC then as now had no Congressional Representation it is still called “the plantation on the Potomac.”
In the early1980s shortly after turning to tennis as an alternate athletic outlet, Bernie discovered “The more things changed the more they remained the same.” While playing tennis at the Garden Fair Tennis Club located near his home he developed a personal friendship with the manager of the facility, Bob Fossler. One day Mr. Fossler indicated to Bernie that all the tennis boards he was involved had begun to seriously discuss the need to diversify the composition of their organizations and to engage people of color. Remember this is almost 40 years after Jackie Robinson and Athea Gibson made their professional debuts.
He then invited Bernie to be a member of one of those boards. Upon his recommendation Bernie submitted his application and was accepted. His membership placed him on the Board of the United States Tennis Association Middle States Philadelphia Area Tennis District. Thus began his roller coaster ride inside the sport of tennis’s dark and blind side.
Bernie joining the USTA was just appetizer, he has served as National President of the American Tennis Association (ATA), the oldest African American sports organization in America. President of the U. S. Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) in the Middles States Section. He would later be named the first black to serve as President of the USTA Philadelphia Area Tennis District (1994) and the first to referee a USTA national championship tournament, the Men’s Senior Grass Court Championships at the Germantown Cricket club in Philadelphia. In 2005 he was named a “Living American History Maker” by the Berean Institute of Philadelphia. Like Frank Sinatra, Bernie has taken the blows and did his way.
I would love to be a book on the shelf to witness and capture the re-actions of friends and foe during the signing. The more interesting moments will be to see if any of today’s black tennis stars and future black stars show up to support his courageous effort to make their paths easier. Richard Williams the father of tennis stars Venus and Serena will be the first in line and I am betting his daughters won’t be far behind. On the other hand James Blake the bridesmaid of the men’s tour will distant himself until he sees the William sisters purchase their first book. His advisors will caution him to keep his distant.
The Games of Tennis-An African American Journey is a must read for every person of color who thinks that they have arrived and that includes parents, teachers, coaches and all advocates of children who claim they are making children first.
The book reflects the thinking of America and how it really feels about people of color. During Bernie’s journey he discovered that every black face he saw was not his brother and every white face was not the enemy. He has never forgotten that it was all white men who made the decision of Brown vs Board of Education and Bolling vs Sharpe. Their decision was based on Love-Love and Love.
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