Team Major Taylor competes every year in what is known as the Men's Little 500. This team is not only made up of Blacks, but people of all races. The Little 500 happens every year in Indianapolis where Major Taylor is a native son.
Courtney Bishop, who is interviewed in the above video raced for Team Major Taylor in 1992. I just want to get a shout out to all of the riders who have ridden in races and competition all over the country to keep Marshall Major Taylor's legacy alive. Keep on keeping on folks and with much prayer, every one of you who ride in the name of America's greatest forgotten sports hero, will sit in the saddle of a Track and Road Bike bearing his name!
Showing posts with label black champions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label black champions. Show all posts
As I move a little further down the road to bringing my vision of Marshall Taylor being a household name, I decided to redo the look of my blog a bit. Unfortunately, web design ain't my thing and when it comes to paying the proper respect to Major Taylor and his legacy through web design, this is as far as I take it folks! I am a firm believer that people should stick to their core skill set and this sure ain't mine as you can see.
Nevertheless, I have been SUPER BUSY working on the long range strategy to make this blog a worldwide success and what I can tell you is I am moving away from my 'Urban Design' ONLY thought process. I came to this conclusion because what I have come to understand about Major Taylor is that he was a man that had a vision, and eventually accomplished it. It was, as was the title of his autobiography, 'The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World.' Yes, he was an urbanite in many respects but he was a World Sprint Bicycle Champion who happened to be black instead of a Black Bicycle Sprint Champion. His race didn't define him and living in a time when Jim Crow was the law of the land here in America, he succeeded in spite of his race
He overcame to become a champion between 1899-1901 even though the racing circuit at that time was determined at seasons end from a total point placement system and Taylor wasn't allowed to race on tracks in the south and was banned in his hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana because he was black. Had he been able to race in the south and Indianapolis AND not banned from a cycling organization (Racers had to be a member to be recognized as Champion) because of his race, I guarantee he would have been World Champion from the years 1897 to at least 1905!
Anyhow...as the Terminator said in the 1984 movie "I'll be back."
Click on Links...This is WILD!
Picture Me Rollin' (Click on Link)
Awhile back I posted about an African American owned bicycle company out of Oakland, California called Scraper Bikes. I will not rehash the details as they were addressed in a previous post (Read post titled 'An Urban Entrepreneur After My Own Heart' 02 August 2008). What I did not know for sure at the time (although I had heard but couldn't verify) is that these cats produced a video, posted it on you tube and got 2.36 MILLION HITS! Not only that, I was driving home one day and as I passed the park right behind my house, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something flickering in the sunlight.
I turned to look and there was a youngster riding a bike and his rims were just poppin'. I was curious so I took a hard left because this youngster would then have to pass right in front of me. He stopped his bike about 15 feet away from me and on his rims, he had smoothed out aluminum foil...The Scraper Bike Concept! Most of the time I ain't one to say "I told yall so", but in the case I have to remind you of what I have been saying since the beginning of this blog, where we come from as it concerns our consumer choices (at least from my experience) it is all about the look, not the functionality.
No one concept or product proves this in general, but there is a mountain of evidence pointing to that truth. Aesthetics, Aesthetics, Aesthetics people! We all know about the 'Bling-Bling' look as it concerns jewelry. Many said this was just a 'Passing Fad' and some even equated it to the 'Hoola-Hoops of the 1950's, here one day and gone the next. Well, a little history for you. Rappers weren't the 1st to wear the bling. No, no, no people. 
One of the most well known entertainers of the 20th Century started this. Your boy LIBERACE started this! Oh yeh my dear readers, check it out!
One of the most well known entertainers of the 20th Century started this. Your boy LIBERACE started this! Oh yeh my dear readers, check it out!
Nevertheless, yall REALLY need to check these cats out.....
Felt Racing is obviously doing some BIG things! I tell yall what, I ran across some of there products in the way of beach cruisers and all I can say is the title of this post: Nice...Just flat out NICE! As someone who doesn't give a 'Hoot' about all the little gadgets and accessories on a bicycle and with a focus more on aesthetics, these are some of the cleanest designs that I have ever seen!
As I was viewing these designs, I said to myself "It is a shame designs like these can't or aren't sold in the 'Big Box Retail Stores' where 82% of the inner-city demographic purchase their bicycles." And looking at the MSRP of these bicycles, I do believe if Felt Racing partnered with a company like Pacific Cycles and all the distribution and purchasing power they have (if they haven't already) the prices could be forced down with bulk and these bicycles could be sold for between $150 and $250 in these stores.
I know that I am over simplifying the process but it just nags in my craw that the HOT bikes are in these independent dealer locations (no offense) and the hottest designs, like these never make it to the streets in big numbers because the large manufacturers settle for selling good designs instead of GREAT ONES!
Man yall, Felt Racing I know these designs have been out for a minute, but these designs are partly what I am talking about when I introduced you all to the new term of T.R.U. Bicycle Design! This ain't it, but I sure love the vision here. 
I saw a movie about the 1st black race car champion driver a few years back that starred Richard Pryor called 'Greased Lightning'. It is the story of America's 1st black race car champion Wendell Scott. This was recently brought back to my attention by an advertisement for this same movie that is to come on TV-One this Saturday. I brushed up up my history of this great sports hero by doing a little research and again, this man and his story fits neatly into what I am doing with the Marshall Taylor Project. Scott was the 1st, and only African-American then and only, to date to accomplish this great feat! He won dozens of races during long and storied career and one NASCAR Event and finished in the top ten an amazing 147 times. This feat was so admirable because he was always working on a very tight budget, didn't have the best pit crews and numerous other challenges because no one really wanted to sponsor a black Race Car driver.
Like Marshall 'Major' Taylor, he had to contend with racism but he overcame the odds. Like Taylor, one of his wins was snatched from him by the judges awarding the win to one of his well known white rivals during an event. NASCAR did do the right thing a few days later by reversing the decision of the judges after irrefutable evidence of Scott's win. Scott, like Taylor many years before him had to overcome the many obstacles that went along with being the 1st and only black in a major sport to compete. There were racers who wanted him to fail at every turn and even conspired to bring about his failure but he kept on pushing and experienced great success as a stock car driver!
Pioneering blacks in American sports were men of vision and one thing they all shared in common was a love for their chosen sport and the will to succeed despite incredible odds. I marvel at the likes of Tiger Woods, Major Taylor, Wendell Scott, Jack Johnson, Arthur Ashe and others were true visionaries within the black community. After you read this, I want all of you to take a moment to reflect and research the careers of some of the African-American community's greatest and least talked about sports heroes. Without them, the groundwork for the mega sports stars of today would never have been laid and more importantly, the can do attitude of an entire community may never have existed! PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW FOR MORE OF SCOTT'S STORY.
http://www.legendsofnascar.com/Wendell_Scott.htm
Like Marshall 'Major' Taylor, he had to contend with racism but he overcame the odds. Like Taylor, one of his wins was snatched from him by the judges awarding the win to one of his well known white rivals during an event. NASCAR did do the right thing a few days later by reversing the decision of the judges after irrefutable evidence of Scott's win. Scott, like Taylor many years before him had to overcome the many obstacles that went along with being the 1st and only black in a major sport to compete. There were racers who wanted him to fail at every turn and even conspired to bring about his failure but he kept on pushing and experienced great success as a stock car driver!
Pioneering blacks in American sports were men of vision and one thing they all shared in common was a love for their chosen sport and the will to succeed despite incredible odds. I marvel at the likes of Tiger Woods, Major Taylor, Wendell Scott, Jack Johnson, Arthur Ashe and others were true visionaries within the black community. After you read this, I want all of you to take a moment to reflect and research the careers of some of the African-American community's greatest and least talked about sports heroes. Without them, the groundwork for the mega sports stars of today would never have been laid and more importantly, the can do attitude of an entire community may never have existed! PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW FOR MORE OF SCOTT'S STORY.
http://www.legendsofnascar.com/Wendell_Scott.htm
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