Congress may honor Major Taylor, first Black American sports world hero

Cyclist overcame racism to become world champion in 1899 but never received proper recognition, say sponsors of effort to award him congressional gold medal

Perspective by Michael Kranish
Staff writer
December 15, 2023 at 6:27 a.m. EST



Major Taylor competes in his first European race, at the Friedenau track in Berlin, in 1901. (Courtesy of Major Taylor Association)

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It was 1901 when the cyclist Marshall “Major” Taylor arrived on Capitol Hill from a triumphant tour of Europe, hailed in a local newspaper as the “Champion of the World.” Here was the first Black American global sports superstar, who had been forced by racism to compete mostly in other countries. ... Now he raced on a track near the Capitol in front of 5,000 people and not only won, as usual, but garnered his latest national title.

Yet several days later, as Taylor sought to check into a New York hotel, he was refused on account of the color of his skin. Many White cyclists didn’t want to race against him, and promoters would play the racist “Dixie” instead of the usual “Star-Spangled Banner” when he was victorious. ... He continued to accumulate honors abroad, but over the years his name faded even though his exploits had paved the way for Black sports heroes such as boxer Jack Johnson and baseball’s Jackie Robinson.

I know this story well because it became an obsession that I turned into a book, “The World’s Fastest Man: The Extraordinary Life of Cyclist Major Taylor, America’s First Black Sports Hero.” In recent years, I have seen a surge of interest of cycling clubs named for him, in bike trails built in his name and historians agreeing on his unparalleled legacy. Still, Taylor’s legacy remains too little-known.

Now, however, that may change, and it is because his story is returning to Capitol Hill. ... A measure introduced on Dec. 7 would award Taylor a congressional gold medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by lawmakers in the Capitol, which is so rare that only 184 individuals and groups have received it since the first one was given by the Continental Congress in 1776 to George Washington, according to the Congressional Research Service.

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Michael Kranish, a political investigative reporter at The Washington Post, is the author of “The World’s Fastest Man: The Extraordinary Life of Cyclist Major Taylor, America’s First Black Sports Hero.”

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By Michael Kranish
Michael Kranish is a national political investigative reporter. He co-authored The Post’s biography "Trump Revealed," as well as biographies of John F. Kerry and Mitt Romney. His latest book is "The World's Fastest Man: The Extraordinary Life of Cyclist Major Taylor." He previously was the deputy chief of the Boston Globe's Washington bureau. Twitter https://twitter.com/PostKranish