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Title details for Black Cyclists by Robert J. Turpin - Available

Black Cyclists

The Race for Inclusion

by Robert J. Turpin
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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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Acknowledgments

Introduction

  • From the Outset
  • The Mode of Liberation
  • Drawing the Color Line
  • In Response to the Color Line
  • The New Woman
  • Six Days in a Row
  • Going Abroad
  • Home Trainers and Vaudeville
  • Once Was Lost

    • Epilogue: Born Again

    Notes

    |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.

    • Creators

    • Series

      Sport and Society

    • Publisher

    • Release date

      April 9, 2024

    • Formats

      • Kindle Book

      • OverDrive Read

        • ISBN: 9780252056611

      • EPUB ebook

        • ISBN: 9780252056611
        • File size: 3840 KB

    • Languages

      • English

    • Reviews

      • Booklist

        April 1, 2024
        The golden age of cycling was in the late nineteenth century when society was captivated by a bicycle boom that transformed economies, transportation, and sport. It was 1899 when Marshall "Major" Taylor, a professional cyclist from Indianapolis, earned the title of world cycling champion and by all accounts was the first Black sports superstar. History professor and former competitive cyclist Turpin chronicles the achievements of not only Taylor but also several unheralded Black cyclists who made worthy contributions to the advancement of the sport and their efforts to break racial barriers. He traces their struggles for inclusion back to the early years of the League of American Wheelmen (now the League of American Bicyclists) and the drawn-out battle over adding a whites-only clause to their membership requirements. Notable highlights include pioneer female bicycle racer Kittie Knox (1874-1900); the Epilogue summarizes the last 100 years. Turpin presents a well-researched book on the triumphs and tragedies during the early years of American cycling history.

        COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    Formats

    • Kindle Book
    • OverDrive Read
    • EPUB ebook

    subjects

    Languages

    • English

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