From WTIU & WFIU Indian Public media:
Major Taylor: Champion of the Race retraces the life and legacy of an American civil rights pioneer who set more than 20 world records in track cycling during the heart of Jim Crow America. By the time he was in his early 20s, Major Taylor had captured the world cycling championship, the American cycling crown, and had set dozens of world track cycling records – all while having to endure withering racial pressures.
The film is narrated by acclaimed opera mezzo-soprano Marietta Simpson, with jazz legend Branford Marsalis reading and interpreting written quotes from Major Taylor. Five-time Emmy Award winning composer/musician Tyron Cooper is crafting a soundtrack for the documentary.
The film features interviews with many top historians, archivists, athletes and activists, who each provide added insight in Taylor’s life and times.
For more information: visit wtiu.org/majortaylor/
Major funding for this program is made possible by the Allen White Hill Clues charitable Foundation as it continues Mr clu’s Legacy of philanthropy in promoting and preserving Arts and Humanities in Indianapolis information at aw Clues c.org additional funding is provided by the IU student Foundation presenting the little 500 Collegiate bike race since
1951 supporting students in leadership and philanthropy since 194 49 details at uf. indiana.edu the AL cobine recognition endowment fund Indiana Public Broadcasting stations the wfiu wtiu documentary programs fund and wtiu members like you thank you after all is said and done and written my own book of experiences will best
Show what these obstacles are and how I managed to overcome them to some extent in a word I was a Pioneer and therefore had to blaze my own trail Marshall Major Taylor Major Taylor was obsessed he had to be to be the first African-American world champion when the whole world was
Against you that would fuel his obsession today’s athletes they are the B product of what major Taylor had to have done in order to achieve what he achieved he earned nicknames that often equated to the most powerful forces in Heaven and Earth the Cyclone the Whirlwind the comet he gained the
Respect of one of the country’s most celebrated civil rights pioneers and shook the hand of a US president who greatly admired him he was the toast of many of the largest cities in America as well as Paris Brussels Munich London and Sydney and for a time he was one of the most famous
People on three continents and he accomplished it all riding a bicycle the remarkable thing about Major Taylor is that he rose to the height to to the Zenith and remarkably he was the best that ever did it he held up the mirror to the false Narrative of racism because racism
Says you’re not as good as this other group and he says through his action oh yes I am Marshall Walter major tailor was many things to many people a poet a musician an author a businessman a loving husband and father he was one of the most powerful
Athletes on the planet the world’s first black sports Superstar reporters simply called him the fastest man in the world Major Taylor was big box office he was a big draw he was a rock star at the turn of the 20th century cycling was the world’s most lucrative
And popular sport in an era when top baseball players earn $2500 a year Major Taylor Made 20 times that year after year after year what major Taylor was able to earn at this particular time in the history of sports is almost unfathomable so for this would be
Happening in the 1890s and early in the 20th century it was really extraordinary at the same time Major Taylor was a master negotiator a man who had to navigate the turbulent Winds of social change that he helped to promote I can’t imagine how major ter or
De with it with the extreme in yourface racism of the Jim Crow Era baseball players had their trials and tribulations but they were also on teams Major Taylor wasn’t on a team it was Major Taylor versus everybody else and everybody else was white life is too
Short for any man to hold bitterness in his heart I pray children of my race will carry on in spite of that Dreadful monster Prejudice and with patience courage fortitude and perseverance achieve success for themselves Major Taylor this is a quintessential American athlete the quintessential American
Story he’s an icon and he wanted to dignify the entire race the whole notion of of extreme patience and persistence that it took to get where he got is a lesson for all of humanity really this is a pioneering figure in American Sport and in American history we need to know about Major
Taylor the man Whom The New York Times once called the fastest in the world was born on November 26th 1878 in Indianapolis Indiana Indianapolis during the time that major Taylor was living here there were schools and black children were attending schools here there were black churches so you had a
Community Major Taylor came up um at a time when America was codifying Jim Crow and he also came up with a time when America would see arguably its most virulent period of racism in the de construction of reconstruction Marshall’s father Gilbert served with the US colored troops during
The Civil War after the war he worked as a Coachman for a wealthy white family the Southerns Gilbert often took young Marshall with him to help care for the horses the southers had a son Daniel who was the same age as Marshall the contrast between the way Taylor grew up
And the way the southern family were living it’s just remarkable I mean it was the two opposite ends of the economic and social Spectrum arguably the most prized possessions the Southerns gave to both their son and to Marshall were their own bicycles Marshall and Dan enjoyed many of the
Same opportunities that is until Taylor attempted to join his white friends at the local YMCA there was only one thing though that I could not beat them at and that was when we went down to the young men’s Christian Association gymnasium it was there that I was first introduced to
That Dreadful monster Prejudice which became my bitterest foe from that very same day they would want to go to the YMCA to play indoors on rainy days and Marshall was not allowed because he was black by the time Taylor and his friends mounted their first two wheelers the
Bicycle craze in the United States had grown to a fever pitch once it was shown that it was efficient and that you could travel great distances far more than you could walk then there was a great deal of excitement about this invention the whole concept was personal Transportation which had never really
Existed before you could take a bicycle anywhere I think the bicycle has done more to emancipate women than any one thing in the world I Rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a bike it gives her a feeling of self-reliance and Independence the moment she takes
Her seat and away she goes the picture of untrammeled Womanhood Susan B Anthony cycling was taking off as America’s sport it was bigger than baseball at the turn of the century bicycle Row in downtown Indianapolis included several manufacturers and retailers Marshall Taylor was familiar with these nearby shops and their owners once when
Entering the hay and Willet store to replace a broken part on his bike Taylor mounted his two-wheeler with a creative flourish that captured the attention of owner Tom hay Tom had a real eye for the marketing and thought this kid could really be a draw let’s get him dressed
Up and put him in front of our shop and while he did this Major Taylor was wearing a military style jacket because um Marshall Walter Taylor was wearing this military style jacket he became known in a very early age as Major Taylor one of the most influential
Entrepreneurs who set up shop on bicycle row was Lewis def Franklin birdie Munger a former Champion cyclist Munger is one of the best racing men in the country moreover he is one of the fairest racing men in the country he is of a very merried disposition and
Everyone he meets is sure to become his friend Chicago Tribune March 1893 birdie muger was very theatrical flamboyant style person and uh probably met Major Taylor through one of the bike shops uh so he became his mentor his coach his employer Munger sensed that his new employee had the potential to be
A successful racer while timing Taylor one day at a local track Munger was surprised to see his young prote speed around the 1em oval in 2 minutes and 9 seconds a mere 2 seconds from the world record at the time was astonished that this young racer that really most people
Never heard of nearly breaks a world record one of the most influential Racers that Taylor met while working for Munger was Arthur Augustus Zimmerman winner of more than a thousand National and international races and the current world champion cyclist 3 years running Zimmerman was coming to Indianapolis for
A race and Marshall Taylor was assigned to go fetch him at the train station so we got to talk to him on the way to Bird’s at Mr Zimmerman’s request I sat down at the dinner table with them a great honor indeed there was no race Prejudice in
The makeup of Zimmerman he was too big for that Zimmerman could offer him Insight he could offer him tips he could just really almost in a way be another Mentor birdie reasoned that prospects might prove more financially beneficial in the growing manufacturing Market in the east in the fall of
1895 he purchased a factory in Worster Massachusetts he promised to take Taylor along as a shop assistant and to continue his training Munger had Grand Visions in mind for Major Taylor to accomplish their goals they needed a bigger attraction in the biggest venue they could find one that would launch Major
Taylor into an international spotlight and they’re up on the six day grind Madison Square Garden is the epicenter of popular culture in America so if you’re making your debut in Madison Square Garden it’s like a singer in Carnegie Hall making your debute this is an event in December 1896 birdie Munger
Entered Major Taylor into one of the nation’s top sports events the annual Six-Day race space at Madison Square Garden in New York City the idea was to go around and around the oval in Madison Square Garden for six straight days and see who could compile the most miles it
Would introduce Major Taylor to the public it may lead to and Fortune hard work and he convinced them that if they could promote the race as a race of black versus white that they would actually attract more people that this would promote interest in the
Race as a warm-up to the big event the 18-year-old Taylor entered a shorter race a half mile dash against the top American Sprinter Eddie bald when the starter’s gun sounded bald shot out to an impressive lead but as the cheering swelled Taylor suddenly stunned everyone by rocketing past bald
To capture the checkered flag it was an incredible event and Eddie bald at the track was quoted by a cycling journalist at the time in a terrible racial epithet that he couldn’t believe that major Taylor had beaten him and this catapulted major tailor to fame instantaneously discipline to me is when
You set your rules and you stick by it when you go through and you have a narrow purpose an overarching goal that is a a life priority you don’t want this you need this Major Taylor had an unyielding goal to perfect his own mental and physical conditioning that goal was much easier
For him to attain in Worcester Massachusetts I was in Worcester only a very short time before I realized that there was no such race Prejudice existing among the bicycle Riders there as I had experienced in Indianapolis when I realized that I would have a fair chance to compete
Against them in races I took on a new lease on life and when I learned that I could join the YMCA in Worcester I was pleased Beyond expression you know really to kind of get ready for any kind of competition uh it was preparation and there’s always
Going to be naysayers but mentally you have to prepare yourself too because of whether you’re being a woman or a person of color the things that are said about you you have to learn to block out physically Taylor sought solace in the gym spiritually he found salvation at
The John Street Baptist Church in Worcester Major Taylor had a very close relationship with his mother safronia uh she was a woman of very deep Faith uh before she died she made him basically promise not to race on Sundays for many of the cyclists Sunday was preferred day
To race and they could earn a great deal of money major was offered thousands to race on Sunday but he would not give in while Massachusetts was far more welcoming than his home in the midwest Taylor still faced hostile reactions when attempting to purchase a new home on Hobson Avenue in an all-white
Neighborhood consternation has in its clutches the society people and property owners of Columbus Park worcester’s new and swell residence District because Major Taylor the colored bicycle Rider has purchased a house there they are making a tremendous fuss over having him for a neighbor and all because of his
Color in private life Major Taylor is one of the most quiet and gentlemanly men in the country but this does not appease the Columbus Park residents they do not want a colored man for a neighbor Boston Post February 1900 there’s people in the neighborhood saying you know we can’t have black
People living here uh they tried to get him to sell the house back for twice what he paid but he really didn’t want to sell it back at all he felt he had the right to live there eventually the Uproar died down Taylor kept the home it was super dangerous on the track
If there was any kind of a mechanical malfunction and a crash there could be serious serious injury or fatality at more than 40 m an hour the world’s top cyclists would push each other at top speed this during a time in which Cycles were often heavy and difficult to
Control and Riders never never wore a helmet or protection of any kind Major Taylor later said that at least 11 of his competitors died uh during cycling races he himself um was knocked unconscious had many terrible crashes for major tayor the threats were constant competitors elbowed him bumped
Him from the track and once a spectator ped a pale of ice water over his head as he passed by one athlete William Becker grew so incensed after a race that he came up behind Taylor and choked him into what Taylor called quote a state of insensibility just after we had crossed
The tape Becca wheeled up and hurled me to the ground he then started to choke me but the police interfered it was 15 minutes before I regained Consciousness track racing is control chaos you have have to leave the Saddle Rock the bike from side to side uh the
The the bicycle is uh more or less a weapon at this point and your job is to chase down everybody in front of you if you’re going to win that race for Major Taylor to also combat racism at the time competitors that didn’t want to race
With him or were boxing him out people that are pioneers they have to welcome that pressure I think white people want to white athletes to be the Stars generally speaking so when a black athlete dominated a sport the way Major Taylor did it was going to be uh clear
That some of those white people would be trying to find the next white Champion to to replace them Taylor’s Challengers included Frank Kramer once called the New Jersey nightmare because of the intensity with which he attacked his opponents on the track he often H racial epithets at
Taylor in the Press there was Ivor Lawson the big swed who once intentionally bumped Taylor into the infield and caused such terrible injuries that Taylor was forced into a hospital bed for weeks and then there was Floyd McFarland the human engine a West Coast champion from San Jose mcf fralin was a big
Bruiser of a guy and mcfallen was determined he would not stop at anything was not going to be beat by a black man when racing head-to-head wins by Taylor would send McFarland into a rage Major Taylor had the determination to win Floyd McFarland had the determination to not allow and to hinder
Major Taylor from winning I shall always remember Floyd McFarland as the instigator and leading perpetrator of practically all the underhanded scheming that might bring about my failure to win the championship ship Laurels Major Taylor would have been racing and training and traveling under a system of segregation this would cause him many
Challenges challenges of where could he stay when he was going to races how would he be able to train and all of those things were things that he had to consider so this was a very dangerous time to be the progyny of enslaved Africans in this country to be a performer in a
Completely white theater was a daunting period not only did Taylor endured the racial turbulence somehow he thrived in it it was a turning point for Major Taylor and he said I’m not going to try to compete as anything other than what I am and I’m going to let the color of my
Skin be my fortune my race is my fortune Major Taylor had an explosive Sprint he could wait in the back of the pack for his moment and then find an opening and jump he was extremely quick and he could sit right on the wheel in front of him uh inches from the the
Wheel above all he had an incredible ability to burst into speed and and wind down the stretch and that became really his his trademark when I had a dangerous man on my rear wheel I would slip into the pocket making no effort to get out until just nearing the tape then timing my
Jump perfectly I would suddenly hop through leaving my rivals in the Lurch often in direct Defiance of promoters bands bogus fines and opponents threats Major Taylor continued to win races all over the United States in more than 12 years of competition he set 22 world records and then went out
And broke his own records another four times more he soon guarded more prize money than any other athlete at the turn of the 20th century you look at the guy and you say he made $20,000 a year $50,000 a year that doesn’t seem that much to people today but we’re talking about
Hundreds of thousands of dollars a year he made someplace between maybe 2 million 3 and A5 million during his career that’s that’s a lot of money major seller starts getting headlines uh nicknames the Worcester worldwind the black Comet the black Cyclone people just love to see how fast
He can go no matter whether they were rooting for the black man to defeat the white man or whether they wanted to see white supremacy upheld they wanted to see it one of the best opportunities for Taylor to show how he could Excel and to claim the title of the world’s fastest
Man would come in August 1899 Less Than 3 years into his Stellar career as a finalist in the one mile World Sprint Championship held before more than 18,000 fans at Queens Park vad Drome in Montreal this was a huge event and major describes his feeling how happy he was
How excited he was and how proud he was in a final Heap that included champions from England France Australia and and the United States Taylor vanquished all his opponents officially Taylor had now earned the title world champion 1899 will always live in my memory as one of my greatest Seasons
Because I won the championship That season beyond the shadow of a doubt my keenest competitors conceding me The Laurels when he competes in races for example uh New York City or in the South they would play Dixie if he won this was the racist anthem of the Confederacy but
When he won the World Championship they played the star spangle banner and he said he had never felt more American until that day in Canada the star spangle Banner never sounded sweeter than it did on this occasion my national anthem took on a new meaning for me from that moment I
Never felt so proud to be an American before and indeed I felt even more American at that moment than I had ever felt in America this was the most impressive moment of my young life he is now an international Superstar he is a world champion winning the world one mile was a wonderful
Stepping stone the black press urged Major Taylor to go overseas and compete against the white Riders and and show the world that you are without a peer a lot of the top racers were in Europe and um he he needed to to level up to get to the next
Level and that’s where the action was by the time Taylor had captured the global Title in 1899 several other promoters were eager to sign and advocate for him in races all over the world Major Taylor the colored cyclist who holds the national professional championship at 1 mile
Expects to sail for France within a fortnight he is prepared to begin the Journey as soon as the perisian syndicate with which he is under contract fulfills that part of the agreement which amounts to $10,000 the young man with staunch Christian principles will compete on European racetracks for two months with
No Sunday races on the program wer spy March 1901 he refused the Sunday competitions it’s significant to point out that the entire structure of bicycle racing was quite literally changed to meet Taylor’s demand that’s how popular he was after the retirement of American Arthur Zimmerman most racing fans in
Europe considered Edmund jacen the reigning champion of France to be the rightful heir to the title world champion jacen had not traveled to Montreal to face Taylor in the world championships in 1899 but he was the most powerful force on the European circuit and the most likely Foe for an international
Challenge with major Taylor when he got to France he he was the sensation there weren’t that many black people walking on the streets of Paris at this time um but he got incredible coverage and they described him as the most elegant physical specimen that they’d ever seen the French public had
Read quite a bit about major Taylor’s exploits on the track in the United States and uh here he was coming to face the great French Champion today will be the fight of two types of athletes who are absolutely different one jacen is the powerful man extraordinarily muscular the other major tailor is the
Thorough bread it is the struggle of the two races the black race against the white race L illustr May 1901 The Duel in Paris would feature two separate match races between the American and European Champion the first best of three match was held on May 16th 1901 jacen remembered the fierce fight I
Pushed like a demon he said we were elbow to elbow by the time they crossed the Finish Line in the second heat Jac had prevailed he was so carried away with his victory over me that he lost his head completely and thumbed his nose at me immediately after crossing the tape I
Was hurt to the quick by his unsportsmanlike conduct and resolved then and there that I would not return home until I had wiped out his insult a Revenge match was set for two weeks later and that time Major Taylor won the first heat and then on the starting line
Of the second heat he reached over and shook Jac’s hand just to unnerve him to disarm him major tiller wrote about this later in his autobiography as a bit of psychology that’s what he called it and it worked Major Taylor won and beat Jac it’s an incredible moment Taylor’s
There he’s in the biggest place of racing in the world he becomes this incredible figure uh in World cycling and he races all over Europe after that Taylor traveled by train to destinations in other European capitals he defeated the champion of Germany the champion of Belgium the champion of Denmark the
Champion of Italy the champion of England he garnered headlines in papers all over the continent The French Press called him Le volon the black flying machine his face was being seen in news newspapers there were many stories being written about him and when he traveled overseas and when he was in France when
He was in Paris he was on the cover of many French Publications Taylor’s reception in Europe was Far different than in America overseas he was an object of curiosity and awe he was still the only black face in the crowd but at least in the capitals of Europe Taylor demanded attention respect and
Many times admiration he is called the holy cyclist a man with such an unusually beautiful physique that we do not recall among all the white sports men who over the years have passed before our eyes seeing anyone whose body Bears such a fine Touch of manly Beauty and elegance as
This young negro who is among the most ad Advanced individuals of his race L illust May 1901 you would have to put Major Taylor in at that level at the Muhammad Ali Jack Johnson he’d have to be in at that level because of his experience and his championships he’s cycling everywhere
He’s representing his family he’s representing his community but whether white folks liked it or not he was representing the United States on the track Major Taylor was a master of physical training and technique away from the track he had many other outside interests his command of the English
Language was Exquisite and he would write and deliver sermons at local churches all along his journey he gave back to the community he was a poet he spoke three languages he was popular all across the globe uh this was unique at that particular time civil rights Pioneer Booker T Washington
Once came to the docks in New York City to wish Taylor good luck as he shipped out on one of his European tours and later in life former president Theodore Roosevelt on a visit to New England shook Taylor’s hand and congratulated him upon being introduced to the late ex-president Roosevelt he
Grasped my hand with a hearty grip and said Major Taylor I am all always delighted to shake the hand of any man who has accomplished something worthwhile in his life I was especially pleased and interested while you were racing abroad defeating all the foreign Champions and carrying the Stars and Stripes to
Victory and then there was Daisy Victoria Morris a young woman who likely met Taylor at a church function in Worcester the two of them met and she was an absolutely gorgeous woman and so it’s not surprising that young major would have kind of you know been tripping over himself to meet her I
Understand she was incredibly elegant well spoken and he fell ahead over heels they had money they had fine clothes they traveled they were a Class Act I think Taylor’s one of the the Trailblazers of um social justice or social activism in sports um you know for him to have that public Persona um
For him to excel uh in cycling it’s that period of racial uplift and ensuring that um we are presenting our very best in December 1902 the summer racing series in Australia was kicking off and the continent’s top sports promoter asked Taylor to compete in a circuit
Literally on the other side of the world this time he would be traveling with Daisy on a trip that would also serve as a type of honeymoon with new racist restrictions being adopted into law in Australia Taylor was unsure whether or not he and Daisy would even be allowed into the
Country the couple was surprised then when the ship eventually pulled into Sydney Harbor I could not restrain my tears as I looked over the side of the liner and saw hundreds of boats decked out with American flags with their whistles toting and men and women aboard them
With megaphones greeting me as they got closer into Port they started seeing just dozens of ships out there and people were cheering and that is the most beautiful moment Australia’s top cycling Champion Don Walker would escort the couple to large in enthusiastic receptions all over the continent he’s treated like walty he’s
Put up in the best hotels when he arrives in Australia for example in in the harbor there’s this Armada of ships that comes out to greet him he’s given parades when he returns from Australia he takes with him an Australian Championship to be celebrated in France
And the UK and Australia where ships are waiting to applaud you I think it’s absolutely one of the most phenomenal stories that we’ve never heard the entire experience was so positive that when Taylor’s daughter was born in May 1904 major named her for the city where he received such a glorious greeting
Sydney it raised money made money for the promoters but it also created enormous joy in the black community it it showed that they they could give equal opportunity that they could Excel that they could win that they could overcome their difficulties at the conclusion of the tour Don Walker accompanied the tailor
On their Journey Back to America but when they arrived in California the Australian Champion was stunned to see how poorly the tailor were treated in the hotels and restaurants of San Francisco I could hardly blame Walker when he grew indignant after seeing the treatment of negroes in this country I was unable to
Explain the conditions satisfactorily for him and the more I tried to smooth over matters the more incensed he became Major Taylor used his position as a cyclist he was someone that promoters had to in many ways accept had to include because he was someone who could attract the crowd who could bring
Audiences and most importantly he could win this was important that he succeed uh not only professionally but uh that he maintained his character despite the personal attacks you know he maintained his composure matters grew even worse for Major Taylor on his return trip to Sydney The Following Season Floyd
McFarland and his sidekick Ivor Lawson said why should Major Taylor why should that guy why should that black guy be getting all the money in Australia we’ll go down there too and race and give him a run for his money of course what makes it even more dangerous
For Major Taylor is at any moment he could be the victim of Foul Play it added a whole another level of skill that major Taylor had to have in addition to his pedaling ability at One race in Melbourne at McFarland’s urging Lawson suddenly swerved and cut
Off Taylor Knocking him off his bike at more than 40 m an hour Taylor skitted across the track into the gravel infield his skin was torn off his body and he was practically unconscious for more than 2 weeks race promoters paced outside Taylor’s Hospital hospital room insisting that he
Leave immediately for a race in Adelaide fully bandaged and barely able to move Taylor slowly made his way from the hospital to the train station despite my best efforts I was unable to leave my bed for a fortnight my doctors informed me that I would be unable to sit in my
Saddle for 3 weeks for me to compete in this race I would have to leave my cot and travel 500 miles for the event Australian race officials were shocked by the actions of Lawson and McFarland they imposed warnings and fines then eventually banned Lawson from Australian competition Taylor did arrive in
Adelaide bloody and heavily bandaged then remarkably won the race all the racism took its toll on Major Taylor there were the physical injuries there were also the psychic abrasions he came back and he basically said I almost had a breakdown and for several years he didn’t race but it was what he himself
Described you know as one of the darkest periods of his life Major Taylor came home from that season in austral Australia on the verge of a nervous breakdown you could say that racism broke him from the remainder of the 1904 season through all of 1906 Taylor did not Mount his bicycle
For a single official competition little did my friends realize the Great physical strain I labored under nor did they seem to realize the great mental strain that beset me in those races and the utter exhaustion which I felt on many occasions both on and off the track in
Most of my races I not only struggled for victory but also for my very life and limb the mental toll the physical toll all that he’s having to deal with is coming to ahead the years of travel the years of maintaining a regiment a training regiment and all those things coming
Together in the spring of 1907 with encouragement from his wife Daisy Taylor grudgingly committed to a new European tour but he was in no real condition to return to International competition on this trip Daisy and Sydney remained in Massachusetts while Taylor dejected and alone attempted to navigate a long and lonely European
Tour this time Major Taylor did not have the clout to get no Sundays in his contract so he ends up racing on Sundays and he did not feel good about it his letters home to Daisy were lonely and Melancholy he was now competing against European Champions who were almost 10
Years younger than he was the demands of the European racing circuit proved to be too much Taylor decided to retire from competitive cycling in 1909 at the age of 31 only my dauntless courage and the indomitable fighting spirit I possessed allowed me to carry on in the face of
Tremendous odds my trying experiences on the tracks had exacted their toll from me and I was certain the day had come for me to step out of the sporting Limelight father time was gaining on me by 1926 Taylor was no longer able to earn money from racing and many of his
Early business ventures failed to take off his finances had dried up though Daisy and Marshall never officially divorced she felt that she needed to take her daughter and leave Worcester in order to secure a job and raise money to help pay for Sydney’s education they moved to New York City an action that
Devastated Taylor who never lost his love passion or dedication to his wife and daughter Taylor had just completed his autobiography the fastest bicycle rider in the world and he sought out new opportunities in in one of the top industrial centers in the United States Chicago he had an idea for an automobile
Tire basically a precursor of what we call nowadays a steel belted radio and he had a prototype and he had big investors he invested a lot of his own money as well his idea essentially was overtaken by other technological advances and did not get Beyond a prototype so he lost a
Big investment on that he rented a place at the Wabash Avenue YMCA in the bronzville district on the city’s south side but soon the financial pressures of the Great Depression coupled with several diseases and a weakened heart resulted in Taylor checking into the charity ward of a Chicago
Hospital it’s a tough ending to the story but he said again and again he wanted people to focus on you know what he accomplished that he had a message and that message was that if you were given a fair Shake um if you were given equal chances that that’s all that was
Wanted that that’s what his story should be about Taylor was not able to bounce back from all that was keeping him down he died on June 21st 1932 at the age of 53 he was buried in an unmarked paers grave at the Mount Glenwood cemetery on CH Chicago’s souths side Major Taylor is
The world champion bicycle racer who came up the hard way without hatred in his heart he was an honest courageous God-fearing clean living gentlemanly athlete a credit to his race we can certainly be inspired by Major Taylor and we can take all of those things athlete husband father man
Of faith all of those things can be inspirational to us he chipped away at it and others chip away at it we’re still chipping away at it we still are fighting racism we we still need more examples of people who are willing to go out front and be the first one in some
Category um to break the barrier more than a decade passed before a group of old cycling veterans partnered with Frank Schwin of the Schwin bicycle company to dedicate a new Memorial plaque marking the contributions of the man many considered to be the greatest bicycle racer in the
World Major Taylor is one of the great civil rights icons just as other great black athletes after him uh Jesse Owens Jackie Robinson Muhammad Ali on and on his story you know he was the path breaker he was the one leading that slipstream you know in a race for racial
Justice and equality what major Taylor did was to show that it’s not only important of what you do as an athlete competitively but what you give back to the community he in many ways became the role model for that early on in the history of American sport Mr Speaker today I Rise to
Introduce the bipartisan Marshall Major Taylor Congressional gold medal act the highest honor this body can bestow upon an American Major Taylor was the greatest athlete of his era America’s first sports Superstar and a world champion but he’s been left out of our history books we need to bring him out
Of the shadows and recognize his greatness both on and off the track the gold medal is to seek recognition it’s our nation’s highest honor for the uh civilian population and if there’s someone that is truly exemplified America greatness uh America’s story uh America’s hope I would want more people to be inspired by
The Life and Legacy of major Marshall Taylor welcome to the honor Major Taylor Fondo by the second decade of the 21st century major Taylor’s Legacy gained a Resurgence in popularity that would be hard to imagine at the time of his death in 1932 Major Taylor cycling events held in
Several large cities across the us annually attract hundreds of participants every year large murals in places like Indianapolis and Chicago remember Taylor’s Time Racing in these and other towns a permanent major tayor museum opened in Worster Massachusetts in the fall of 2021 other educational and historical exhibits have been featured in Indianapolis Indiana
And in Rubi France other cycling groups Across the Nation evoke the spirit of major tailor in their mission and organized events we say a lot of times that black girls do bike that there’s power and showing up there’s power in numbers um we say that you know sometimes riding
Your bike isn’t an act of Revolution and so I I draw the parallel there because the fact that we exist creates space creates representation Major Taylor is known as the fastest man in the world for him to achieve despite a racial discrimination that he experienced in
This time period um and to still uh have that uh that gumption to keep going um but also the the ability to be able to challenge that racism and I think that uh that’s one of the things that makes him that Trailblazer what is it profit a man to gain the
World and keep his soul intact to have and hold the keys to his Destiny in his back pocket is it money is the reward in the revolution major Taylor’s canvas was a bike and he fought in the whitewash game of cycling using his colored brush hands
To paint a more accurate picture of the black man Major Taylor gave history to Paris and toured the many floors of Europe but remained a proud black American major light shining so brightly that only the sun could rival the speed of which it travels Global Boy Wonder
Top speed black magic on brand this is Major Taylor the world’s fastest man for him to compete and succeed the way he did you know he had to be an incredible human being and and also just an absolute Rock mentally and that’s something that is um is pretty unique
And special and did make a difference in the history of uh of the Sports World and and hopefully in society at large all major Taylor wanted was an equal shot and all people like major Taylor want is an equal shot um and once given that opportunity uh he proved
Himself and I think he would look to everyone else and say this is what they can do I felt I had my day and a wonderful day it was too as I think back over the those old days I have no retrospective regrets I am a negro in every sense of
The word and I am not sorry that I am we do have numerous white friends and sympathizers together we are doing all in our power to bring about a new error with regard to equal rights and the Brotherhood of all mankind regardless of creed race or color Marshall major tayor
Major funding for this program is made possible by the Allen White Hill Clues charitable Foundation as it continues Mr clu’s Legacy of philanthropy in promoting and preserving Arts and Humanities in Indianapolis information at aw clu cf. org additional funding is provided by the IU student Foundation presenting the little 500 Collegiate
Bike race since 1951 supporting students in leadership and philanthropy since 1949 details at uf. indiana.edu the alcine recognition endowment fund Indiana Public Broadcasting stations the wfiu wtiu documentary programs fund and wtiu members like you thank you
3 Comments
Excellent!!
Thanks for uploading this Rahsaan!
I've read a couple books about his story, we owe him a lot!