"Black Jesus" is a narrative portrait of Arthur Ashe, the legendary African-American tennis player who broke racial barriers in a sport defined by exclusion and elitism. Written and narrated by Federico Buffa, the piece transcends traditional sports reporting. It is not merely a recap of Ashe’s victories at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open, but a profound exploration of grace under pressure, racial identity, and the burden of being a "symbol" in a prejudiced society.
Federico Buffa is known for his literary approach to sports. He uses the contrast between Ashe and his contemporaries (like John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors) to discuss a changing world. Ashe represented an older, perhaps dying, ideal of dignity. Buffa posits that Ashe’s victory in 1975 was the last stand of an aristocratic era, executed by a man who had been excluded from the aristocracy. Black Jesus Federico Buffa.pdf