Marshall Walter ("Major") Taylor was born in 1898 in Indianapolis,
Indiana. Taylor was the first African American to achieve the level of
cycling world champion and the second Black athlete to win a world
championship in any sport. This was when cycling was one of the most
popular spectator sports in the world.
Taylor encountered racial
prejudice throughout his racing career from some of his competitors. In
addition, some local track owners feared that other cyclists would
refuse to compete if Taylor was present for a bicycle race and banned
him from their tracks.
Major Taylor won his first significant
cycling competition on June 30, 1895, when he was the only rider to
finish a grueling 75-mile (121 km) road race near his hometown of
Indianapolis. During the race Taylor received threats from his
competitors, who did not know that he had entered the event until the
start of the race.
Taylor turned professional in 1896, at the age of eighteen, and soon emerged as the "most formidable racer in America."
As
a professional racer Taylor continued to experience racial prejudice as
a Black cyclist in a White-dominated sport. In November and December
1897, when the circuit extended to the racially-segregated South, local
race promoters refused to let Taylor compete because he was Black.
Taylor's
legacy lies in his willingness to challenge racial prejudice as an
African American athlete in the White-dominated sport of cycling. He was
also hailed as a sports hero in France and Australia. Taylor, who
became a role model for other athletes facing racial prejudice and
discrimination, was "the first great Black celebrity athlete" and a
pioneer in his efforts to challenge segregation in sports. He also paved
the way for others facing similar circumstances.
Taylor explained
in his autobiography that he had no other African Americans to offer him
advice and "therefore had to blaze my own trail."
Excerpted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Taylor
A film about Major Taylor was just published by WTIU, Indiana Public Media.
A full length film, titled Whirlwind, is being produced and is still seeking funding. Please see https://www.worcesterwhirlwind.com/
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