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Blake Strode (born July 9, 1987 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American civil rights lawyer serving as the executive director of ArchCity Defenders (ACD), and is a former professional tennis player.
He earned degrees in Spanish Language and economics at the University of Arkansas, where he was an All American tennis player for the Razorbacks.
Strode was admitted into Harvard Law School in 2009, which he deferred for three years to pursue his career in tennis. At Harvard, he participated in the student practice organization "Project No One Leaves," reaching out to recently-foreclosed homeowners and informing them of their legal rights. He interned at the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division's voting section. He graduated in 2015, after several high-profile police brutality cases including the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
Strode qualified in the 2010 U.S. Open in Atlanta. Strode competed in the qualifying for the 2012 SAP Open, where he defeated Andre Begemann and Clayton Almeida before losing to Denis Kudla in the final qualifying round. However, due to number one seed Gaël Monfils withdrawing with a knee injury, Strode gained entry into the main draw where he lost in the second round.
In January 2018 Strode was named the new executive director of the firm at age 30.
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