Replay: The Life of Arthur Ashe

Though he first emerged in the public consciousness as a world-class athlete, Arthur Ashe’s subsequent contributions as an author, activist, humanitarian and businessman eventually transcended his sporting success. Whit Sheppard is working on a biography of Virginia-born Arthur Ashe (1943-1993) scheduled to coincide with the upcoming twenty-fifth anniversary of Ashe’s death in 2018.

Philanthropist Doris Buffett, sister of Warren Buffett, has funded a new program at Germanna Community College that helps first generation college students earn associate’s degrees in high school. One of the goals is to provide support for young African American males, the group with the lowest national graduation rate.

Joseph Roane, an agronomist trained at Virginia State University, was part of a group of African American expatriates who were encouraged by the Stalinist government in the 1930s to work in the Soviet Union building a society free of class and racism. We speak with the directors of a new film on how Roane survived Stalin’s purges and returned to the United States to become a mentor to young African American agricultural students.

We speak with the author of the new book We Fight for Peace, which tells the story of American prisoners of war in the Korean War who defected to North Korea. What happened to them when they decided to return to the United States?