Items related to Black Cyclists: The Race for Inclusion (Sport and Society)

Black Cyclists: The Race for Inclusion (Sport and Society) - Softcover

Turpin, Robert J.

 
9780252087851: Black Cyclists: The Race for Inclusion (Sport and Society)
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0252087852 ISBN 13: 9780252087851
Publisher: University of Illinois Press, 2024

Synopsis

Cycling emerged as a sport in the late 1870s, and from the beginning, Black Americans rode alongside and raced against white competitors. Robert J. Turpin sheds light on the contributions of Black cyclists from the sport’s early days through the cementing of Jim Crow laws during the Progressive Era. As Turpin shows, Black cyclists used the bicycle not only as a vehicle but as a means of social mobility--a mobility that attracted white ire. Prominent Black cyclists like Marshall “Major” Taylor and Kitty Knox fought for equality amidst racist and increasingly pervasive restrictions. But Turpin also tells the stories of lesser-known athletes like Melvin Dove, whose actions spoke volumes about his opposition to the color line, and Hardy Jackson, a skilled racer forced to turn to stunt riding in vaudeville after Taylor became the only non-white permitted to race professionally in the United States.

Eye-opening and long overdue, Black Cyclists uses race, technology, and mobility to explore a forgotten chapter in cycling history.

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About the Author

Robert J. Turpin is an associate professor of history and the assistant director of the honors program at Lees-McRae College. He is the author of First Taste of Freedom: A Cultural History of Bicycle Marketing in the United States.

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Publisher
University of Illinois Press
Publication date
2024
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0252087852
ISBN 13 
9780252087851
Binding
Paperback
Edition number
1
Number of pages
248