Sunday March 9th, 10:30 AM
Seminar room: 125 (Atrium Level)
Presented by Cyrille Vincent
More than a hundred years ago, when bicycle races drew crowds that filled Madison Square Garden, the biggest draw of all was Marshall W. Major Taylor. As a superstar athlete in the most popular sport of his era, 1899 world bicycling champion Major Taylor saw his racing victories well chronicled in mainstream newspapers as well as cycling publications right as the bicycling industry was starting to boom.
In a post-Civil War era governed by Jim Crow laws in the South and overt racism nationwide, Major Taylor managed to be the first Black champion of the world in cycling and one of the first black world champions in any sport. His fame grew not only in America but in Europe and Australia as newspapers around the world reported his triumphs. The Boston Globe labeled him ‘‘The World Beater’’ in a headline in August 1899.
The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World is an engaging presentation that traces cyclist Major Taylor’s meteoric rise to become the first Black international athlete super-star. Dubbed the “Black Cyclone,’’ Taylor’s legacy lives on as an inspiration to both aspiring and professional athletes and more broadly to anybody facing unfair barriers erected by society.
This presentation is the by-product of four years of research by documentary filmmaker Cyrille Vincent who is producing a groundbreaking documentary film about Major Taylor and the men who helped him achieve worldwide fame. The presentation blends rare unpublished archives, contemporary imagery, compelling commentaries and behind the scenes of Whirlwind, the Major Taylor upcoming documentary he is producing.
Ky Plaskon, 2023 President of the Truckee Meadow Bicycle Alliance said of the presentation that:
”The audience for Cyrille’s presentation was delighted to not only be entertained but also provided valuable feedback for his upcoming and much-needed documentary film on Major Taylor. Bike and historical groups nationwide and around the world should be scrambling to support this important story and the passionate producer behind it.”
