Wake Forest Degree for Doctor of Laws conferred to tennis legend Arthur Ashe on 5 September 1989, during the height of his civil rights activism. Just a few years after this degree was conferred, Ashe died of AIDS in 1993, still fighting for various humanitarian causes. Degree reads: ''Wake Forest University / On the recommendation of the faculty of / Wake Forest University / the Trustees have conferred upon / Arthur Ashe / the degree of / Doctor of Laws / Given at Winston-Salem in the state of North Carolina...'' and is signed by the University President, Provost, Chairman of the Board and Secretary of the Board. With a gilt Wake Forest stamp intact. Degree opens card-style, with an illustration of the campus above degree. Measures 17.5'' x 13.25'' and is matted to a leather case that has some wear and scuffing to verso. Degree is near fine. With an LOA from Ashe's widow.