South Bend Washington High School Walkout
<p>On September 20, 1968, 200 African American students staged a walkout at Washington High School in South Bend, Indiana. The walkout was a protest of the lack of representation of African Americans students in the school’s sports teams and extracurricular activities. The center of the conflict revolved around the fact that there was not a single African American cheerleader on Washington High School’s “all white” cheerleading squad. The walkout was organized and carried out by the Student Organization for Unity and Leadership (S.O.U.L.), a student-run organization that advocated for the representation of African American students in all areas of student life at Washington High School. Prior to the walkout, S.O.U.L. held two meetings to plan the demonstration at the LaSalle Park Center on Western Avenue. The pep assembly walkout involved many students and gained the attention of the South Bend African American newspaper The Reformer, where it made the front page of the September 29, 1968 edition.[1]</p>
<p>As one of the last Northern states to officially desegregate public schools, Indiana has a long history of racial inequality in its educational systems. The move to integrate public schools came in 1949, only five years preceding the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, when the Indiana General Assembly passed the Indiana School Desegregation Act in 1949.[2] Although the law required schools to start integrating, segregation persisted throughout the state due to residential zoning. South Bend’s public school system had never officially been segregated; however, the city enforced extremely discriminatory housing practices that made it very difficult for African Americans to become property owners, forced African American families into segregated neighborhoods, and perpetuated unofficial segregation in public schools.[3]</p>
<p>Even in school buildings that were officially integrated, African American students were often denied access to recreational facilities and discouraged from participating in school teams and clubs in South Bend.[4] These discriminatory practices caused African American students to feel unrepresented in their schools and culminated in a large public protest at Washington High School. In its coverage of the 1968 Washington High School walkout, The Reformer reported that one student demonstrator said, “We’ve been given frustration in place of equal representation.”[5] Despite the large African American population at Washington High School, African American students felt unable to participate fully in their school community. Marching out of the all-school pep assembly, over 200 students mobilized in order to upend the school’s prejudiced operations.</p>
<p>The year 1968 saw many school walkouts staged by students seeking to promote civil rights. The largest and most influential demonstration was the East Los Angeles School walkouts of March 1968.[6] It is likely that the 200 students who walked out of Washington High School on September 20, 1968 were inspired by this and similar walkouts earlier in the year.</p>
[1] Val Maxwell, “Washington Students Stage Walkout,” The Reformer, September 29, 1968, 1.
[2] “A Look Back: Hoosier inequality,” South Bend Tribune, January 18, 2016, https://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/history/a-look-back-hoosier-inequality/article_14aff11b-7be0-5594-a12d-499a0c02e67d.html
[3] Annette Scherber, “’Better Homes wants to have a fair shake:’ Fighting Housing Discrimination in Postwar South Bend,” Indiana History Blog, last modified May 18, 2017, https://blog.history.in.gov/tag/housing/
[4] “Segregation in South Bend,” St. Joseph County Public Library, accessed June 1, 2020, https://sjcpl.org/node/7579.
[5] Maxwell, “Washington Students Stage Walkout,” 1.
[6] “The Walkout — How a Student Movement in 1968 Changed Schools Forever (Part 1 Of 3),” United Way Greater Los Angeles, last modified February 26, 2018, https://www.unitedwayla.org/en/news-resources/blog/1968Walkouts/.
Student Author: Natalie Bradshaw
Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson
Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey
PHOTO & VIDEO:
Washington High School South Bend 2015, attributed to IH Havens, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Washington_High_School_South_Bend_2015.jpg
Crispus Attucks High School
<p>Crispus Attucks High School, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, opened in 1927. Originally, it was to be named after President Thomas Jefferson. However, the idea of a school built explicitly for African American students named for a white slave owner invoked multiple petitions from the African American community. The name changed to Crispus Attucks to honor the runaway slave who is said to have been the first person to die in the American Revolution, during the Boston Massacre.[1]</p>
<p>The 1920s marked a great resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana, which pressured for segregated education. There was much pushback from African Americans regarding Crispus Attucks being segregated. The Better Indianapolis League, as well as African American churches such as the Bethel AME Church in Indianapolis, strongly opposed segregating the school.[2] Despite this, the school board voted unanimously on segregation. African American students who had previously attended integrated Indianapolis high schools, such as Arsenal Technical, Washington, and Shortridge, moved to Crispus Attucks upon the school’s opening, and were no longer allowed to attend any other public high school in the city. The Indianapolis Recorder reported on this incident, stating: “About two dozen of boys and girls who appeared at Shortridge, Manual and Technical High Schools...were refused admission...The Negro citizens are now faced with the circumstance, voiced by opponents of a Negro High School in the past. The great establishments as Technical, Manual, and Shortridge, offer subjects or works, and facilities that Negro boys and girls will never have at the Attucks High School, some parents declare.”[3]</p>
<p>Many Crispus Attucks’ teachers held master’s degrees or PhDs, which was unusual for a high school at the time. Richard Pierce in Polite Protest states, “By 1934, seven years after opening its doors, the sixty-two-member faculty held nineteen master’s degrees and two Ph.D.s. The percentage of advanced degrees held by Attucks’s faculty far exceeded that of any other high school in the city.”[4] With the amount of highly educated faculty, Attucks provided quality education despite the lack of quality resources compared to the city’s white high schools. The school also found success in sports. In the 1950s, the Attucks Tigers won two consecutive state basketball championships. The 1955 championship made the Tigers the first segregated black high school team in US history to win a state title.[5] Notable athletes who played on the team included future NBA Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson.[6]</p>
<p>Statewide desegregation was enacted into law by the Indiana General Assembly in 1949, five years before the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision. However, Crispus Attucks continued to be a segregated African American high school. In 1965, the president of the NAACP requested an investigation into why Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) were still segregated. In 1968, the Department of Justice “directed IPS to begin taking voluntary steps toward actual integration.” IPS ignored this directive, which was met with protests from the African American community, and from whites who refused to let their children attend Attucks High School. The school would remain segregated until September 7, 1971 “under court-ordered desegregation”.[7]</p>
<p>Recognized for both its architecture and its role in African American education and civil rights, Crispus Attucks High School was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. In 1992, the Indiana Historical Bureau erected a historical marker in front of the school, recounting its history and its importance to the Indianapolis African American community.</p>
[1] <span>“Crispus Attucks High School.” National Park Service National Register of Historic Places. Accessed March 20, 2020, https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/indianapolis/crispusattucks.htm.<br />[2] Glass, James A. “AME Church has proud history in Indiana.” Indy Star, 2016. Accessed March 20, 2020.<br />[3] “Students Barred From High Schools,” Indianapolis Recorder, September 24, 1927, 2. Accessed March 24, 2020.<br />[4] Pierce, Richard B. Polite Protest: The Political Economy of Race in Indianapolis, 1920-1970, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 32.<br />[5] Crispus Attucks High School IHB Marker Review. Indiana Historical Bureau, 2014, 3. Accessed March 24, 2020, https://www.in.gov/history/files/49.1992.1review.pdf.<br />[6] Robertson, Oscar. How an all-black high school team starring Oscar Robertson changed Hoosier Hysteria. Accessed March 24, 2020, https://theundefeated.com/features/oscar-robertson-crispus-attucks-tigers/<br />[7] Crispus Attucks High School IHB Marker Review.</span>
Student Authors: Robin Johnson and Emma Brauer
Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson
Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey
PHOTO & VIDEO:
Crispus Attucks High School, attributed to Nyttend, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crispus_Attucks_High_School.jpg
<a href="https://www.in.gov/history/markers/211.htm">Indiana Historical Bureau: Historical Marker</a><br /><a href="https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/88003043">National Register of Historic Places</a>
Indianapolis ABCs and Washington Park
<p>Baseball has been considered America’s past time for over a century. It has been played by people of all ages and all races since its creation. As more African Americans began to move to Indianapolis around the turn of the twentieth century, many African American athletic teams were created.<span>[1]</span> The Indianapolis ABCs, a professional baseball team established in 1902, was sponsored by the American Brewing Company in its early years.<span>[2]</span> As the team traveled around the country to play exhibition games, the American Brewing Company would supply kegs of beer for fans’ refreshment as a marketing tool.<span>[3]</span> Early on, the ABCs played their home games at Indianapolis’ Northwestern Park which was located at 18th Street and Brighton Boulevard at a field surrounded by wooden grandstands.<span>[4]</span> Most opponents were local, but they did play regional teams on major holidays in the summer.<span>[5]</span> Not only did the ABCs gain the attention of the local African American community, they were also recognized nationally through the coverage of journalist David Wyatt in the <em>Indianapolis Freeman</em>.<span>[6]</span> </p>
<p>In 1914, one of the best African American baseball managers at the time, Charles “C.I.” Taylor, moved to Indianapolis and bought a half-interest in the team.<span>[7]</span> Taylor began to search across the country for some of the best African American baseball players to join the ABCs.<span>[8]</span> As the team improved and traveled, it gained many African American followers and even some white fans.<span>[9]</span> One of the most famous ABCs fans was Indianapolis African American businesswoman Madam C.J. Walker. She attended many games at Northwestern Park and later Washington Park, after the team signed a lease to use the stadium.<span>[10]</span> Washington Park was the site of the first game in the National Negro League in 1920 between the Indianapolis ABCs and the Chicago Giants. The lease with Washington Park allowed the ABCs to play more home games than other teams in their league, which allowed fans around the city more opportunities to see the ABCs in action.<span>[11]</span> </p>
<p>As Ku Klux Klan activity increased in the 1920s, the KKK attempted to suppress opportunities of African American sports teams by making it harder for those teams to receive a stadium lease for ballparks owned by whites.<span>[12]</span> Even though the ABCs were able to secure a stadium lease, there were other instances of discrimination. In 1914, the Hoosier Federals of the whites only Federal League was one of the best teams in the state, and many people wanted to the ABCs and Federals to play in an exhibition game. However, Federals owner W.H. Watkins denied the decision, afraid if his team lost to an African American team it may ruin their reputation as a strong opponent.<span>[13]</span> This decision by white teams not to play the ABCs frustrated many of the ABCs players. In response, Wallace Gordon, the second baseman for the ABCs, wrote a poem to the <em>Indianapolis Ledger</em> where he stresses that he just wanted these teams to give them a chance and meet them “face to face.”<span>[14]<br /><br /></span>In 1920, the Negro National League was formed, with the ABCs one of the original teams.<span>[15]</span> By joining the Negro National League, the team was able play league opponents such as the Kansas City Monarchs, gaining a much larger regional following.<span>[16]</span> The ABCs continued to face discrimination as they traveled across the country. Often times, the ABCs would not be able to find hotel or restaurant accommodations in the cities they visited.<span>[17]</span> The third baseman of the ABCs mentioned how “you could find places, but they wouldn’t serve you and that was rough…. I’d just go somewhere and get me a loaf of bread and a can of sardines…. I don’t know sometimes I wonder myself what kept us going?”<span>[18]</span> </p>
<p>After being one of the top teams in the Negro National League between 1920 and 1923, the ABCs had difficulties in the late 1920s and 1930s.<span>[19]</span> Many of the better ABC players moved to the Eastern Colored League, due to better financial opportunities in larger markets.<span>[20]</span> The Great Depression hit the nation in 1929; the ABCs were also affected by the economic collapse. In order to save money on bus fare, the team began to take road trips in cars loaded with passengers and gear. Sadly, this led to a tragedy in 1935 when six ABCs were in a car that flipped, killing first baseman Carl Lewis.<span>[21]</span> The team continued playing through the Depression, operating at a semi-professional level starting in 1935 because of financial struggles.<span>[22]</span> The Indianapolis ABCs would play their last game in 1940 at Perry Stadium in Indianapolis, later known as Bush Stadium.<span>[23]</span> </p>
Despite the collapse of the ABCs, the team was an influential part of the African American community in Indianapolis. They gave African Americans a home team to cheer for and take pride in for over 30 years. The significance of Washington Park, the home field of the Indianapolis ABCs and the location of the first game of the Negro National League, is commemorated with a historical marker erected by the Indiana Historical Bureau and the Society for American Baseball Research, Negro Leagues Research Committee in 2011.<span>[</span><span>24]</span> The ABCs would pave the way for another African American baseball team in the city: the Indianapolis Clowns. The Clowns would play during a time of great change in the world of baseball, namely racial desegregation within Major League Baseball.
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[1] Paul Debono, The Indianapolis ABCs (Jefferson: McFarland & Company, 1997), 82. <br />[2] Paul Debono, “The Pride of the Negro League,” Traces 11, no. 4 (Fall 1999):6 <br />[3] Ibid. <br />[4] Geri Strecker and Christopher Baas, “Batter UP! Professional Black Baseball at Indianapolis Ballparks,” Traces 23, no. 4 (Fall 2011): 27.<br />[5] Debono, “The Pride of the Negro League,” 6. <br />[6] Debono, Indianapolis ABCs, 44. <br />[7] Debono, “The Pride of the Negro League,” 7 <br />[8] Debono, Indianapolis ABCs, 51.<br />[9] Debono, “The Pride of the Negro League,” 6. 6.<br />[10] Strecker and Baas, “Batter Up!,” 27-30 <br />[11] Ibid, 20.<br />[12] Ibid, 31.<br />[13] Debono, Indianapolis ABCs, 56 <br />[14] Ibid, 57. <br />[15] Debono, “The Pride of the Negro League,” 10 [16] Debono, Indianapolis ABCs, 86 <br />[17] Debono, “The Pride of the Negro League,” 11 [18] Ibid. <br />[19] Ibid, 10 <br />[20] Ibid, 11 <br />[21] Ibid. <br />[22] Debono, Indianapolis ABCs, 101.<br />[23] Debono, “The Pride of the Negro League,” 11. [24] Indiana Historical Bureau, Washington Park Baseball.
Student Authors: Ben Wilson and Robin Johnson<br />Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson<br />Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey
PHOTO & VIDEO:<br />1904 Indianapolis, Indiana photographs, attributed toIndiana State Library and Historical Bureau, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1904_Indianapolis,_Indiana_photographs_-_DPLA_-_b744c3ac0fe67b5e9bb59e06dd412500_(page_55)_(cropped)_2.jpg
<a href="https://www.in.gov/history/markers/4126.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indiana Historical Bureau: Historical Marker</a>
Indianapolis Clowns and Bush Stadium
In the 1920s, America’s past time of baseball was racially segregated across the country. In response to this divide in society, African Americans created the Negro National League in 1920.[1] The league provided a competitive atmosphere and entertaining games for both African American players and fans. The Indianapolis ABCs were one of the original teams of the Negro National League and played their home games in Perry Stadium, later known as Bush Stadium.[2] In the 1930s, the ABCs faced financial issues and played its last game in 1940.[3] <br /><br />As the Indianapolis ABCs declined, a new team began to make a presence in Indianapolis. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, the Ethiopian Clowns, an independent African American barnstorming team, was known for both show business and baseball. They relocated to Cincinnati in 1943, becoming part of the Negro American League and played games in both Cincinnati and Indianapolis. The team relocated a final time, becoming the Indianapolis Clowns in 1946.[4] What made the Clowns iconic was their comedy routine before and during games.[5] Often times this routine would include using oversized bats and gloves, wearing costumes, and playing “shadow ball” where members of the Clowns would go through the motions of throwing the ball across the field without using the ball.[6] Players such as Reese “Goose” Tatum would make scenes throughout the game, such as praying on their knees near the batter’s box immediately before they were up to bat.[7] <br /><br />The Clowns considered their home field to be Indianapolis’ Perry Stadium, which was renamed Bush Stadium. The stadium was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. During the 1930s and 1940s, Bush Stadium was home to many Negro National and American League teams in addition to the Clowns, including the ABCs, American Giants, Athletics, and Crawfords. <br /><br />The Clowns were also a barnstorming team that traveled across the country to play exhibition games.[8] Despite being known for their jokes and pranks during games, they were also very competitive in the Negro American League.[9] While in the league, the clowns continued to travel around the country and played against African American baseball legends such as Satchel Paige.[10]<br /><br />Similar to other African American teams around the country the Clowns faced many cases of discrimination. While they were traveling they would often not be allowed to enter certain establishments, and had to leave many “sundown towns” before they were forced out by the local authorities.[11] Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier of Major League Baseball in 1947 by joining the Brooklyn Dodgers.[12] This milestone was a pivotal moment for African Americans in history, but it led to the start of the decline of the Negro American League and Negro National League. Major League Baseball drafted the best African American players, causing the quality of play to suffer in the two African American baseball leagues. The Negro National League disbanded in 1948.[13]<br /><br />The Indianapolis Clowns and the Negro American League had many more years of quality baseball. For the Clowns, the 1950s were actually their best years as a franchise, winning the Negro American League pennant in 1950, 1951, 1952, and 1954.[14] In 1952, one of the best players in the history of baseball played for the Clowns. After not earning a spot with the Brooklyn Dodgers, 18-year old Hank Aaron from Mobile, Alabama, was signed by the Indianapolis Clowns.[15] The future home run record holder only played for a short time before the Major Leagues’ Boston Braves signed him to a contract. He was with the Clowns for such a brief period that Indianapolis fans never got the chance to see him play.[16] Not only did the Clowns sign future Major League Baseball all-stars, they also signed African American women. At different times in their history, they signed Mamie “Peanut” Johnson and Connie Morgan to the team, and both of them proved that they could compete at the same level as men.[17] <br /><br />Even after the Negro American League came to an end in the early 1960s, the Indianapolis Clowns continued their barnstorming and reverted to even more of a comedic routine.[18] The Clowns had some players to solely entertain the audience, and other players who earned a stipend and were looking for the opportunity to be seen by major league scouts.[19] The team became known more as a comedy routine than a baseball team in the 1970s and 1980s. The owner of the Clowns during this period, Dave Clark, called the team a “professional comedy baseball club, that also trained and developed players who had been overlooked by organized baseball.”[20] As the team began to decline in popularity, the Indianapolis Clowns played their final season in 1989, the last professional team of any of the Negro Leagues.[21]
[1] Paul Debono, “The Pride of the Negro League,” Traces 11, no. 4 (Fall 1999):10. <br />[2] Ibid. <br />[3] Ibid, 11. <br />[4] Paul Debono, The Indianapolis ABCs (Jefferson: McFarland & Company), 123. <br />[5] Bill Traughber, “Looking Back: Indianapolis Clowns Visit The Dell,” MiLB.com, May 14, 2012. <br />[6] Debono, The Indianapolis ABCs, 120. <br />[7] “NEGRO LEAGUES BASEBALL 1946: Reece ‘Goose’ Taylor Tatum,” Indianapolis Clowns, Kansas City Moncarchs,” Youtube, 3:40.<br />[8] Paul Debono, “The Pride of the Negro League,” Traces 11, no. 4 (Fall 1999):32. <br />[9] “The Indianapolis Clowns,” Negro Leagues Baseball Museum eMuseum.<br />[10] Ibid.<br />[11] “The Incredible legacy of the Indianapolis Clowns,” WISHTV, February 15, 2019. <br />[12] Ibid, 121. <br />[13] Ibid. <br />[14] Heaphy, Negro League, 241. <br />[15] Debono, The Indianapolis ABCs, 121. <br />[16] Ibid. <br />[17] Heaphy, Negro League, 218.<br />[18] Debono, The Indianapolis ABCs, 123.<br />[19] Ibid. <br />[20] Ibid, 124. <br />[21] Williams, “The Incredible legacy of the Indianapolis Clowns.”
Student Authors: Ben Wilson and Robin Johnson <br />Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson<br />Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey
PHOTO & VIDEO:
Bush Stadium Indianapolis, attributed to Xti90, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bush_Stadium_Indianapolis.JPG
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/132003791" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Register of Historic Places</a>
"Mr. Basketball" Bill Garrett, coach at Crispus Attucks High School
One of the most pivotal moments in sports history was when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball, joining the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. [1] The same year, a similar barrier was being broken in one of the Hoosiers state’s most beloved sports. In the fall of 1947, Bill Garrett became the first African American to join the Indiana University basketball team, which also marked him as the first to integrate the Big Ten Conference. [2] <br /><br />Bill Garrett was born in 1929 in Shelbyville, Indiana, and grew up playing basketball in his hometown. [3] In high school, Garrett played for the Golden Bears of Shelbyville High School. During his senior season, the team had three African American starters. Garrett’s senior season in 1946 and 1947 was a breakout year for the Golden Bears, who defeated Garfield High School of Terre Haute for the state championship. Garrett scored 21 points overall, pushing Shelbyville to victory with a final score of 68 to 58. [4] For his efforts as a senior, Garrett was awarded the title of “Indiana Mr. Basketball” for being the best player in the state during the 1946-1947 season. [5] <br /><br />Despite his success in high school, Garrett was not offered a scholarship from the basketball powerhouse schools in Indiana. The Big Ten Conference had barred integration based upon an “unwritten ‘gentlemen’s agreement’” to keep black players out of sports. [6] Garrett was not the first talented player to face this problem. The 1946 Indiana Mr. Basketball, Johnny Wilson, also an African American, never received an offer from Purdue University or Indiana University. However, he did not let this discrimination keep him from playing the sport entirely, and joined the team at Anderson University, a much smaller school. [7] <br /><br />To prevent Garrett from the same fate, Faburn DeFrantz, the director of the Senate Avenue YMCA in Indianapolis, met with President Herman Wells of Indiana University to convince him to allow Garrett to play for the Hoosiers. [8] After many conversations between DeFrantz, Wells, and head basketball coach Branch McCracken, Garrett was admitted to Indiana University in the fall of 1947. [9] Once Garrett arrived on campus, things did not get any easier for him. Indiana University’s campus was segregated in the 1940s. Black students were barred from on-campus housing, prohibited from swimming in the university pools, and could not join fraternities and sororities. [10] The surrounding city of Bloomington was segregated as well, and black IU students even had difficulty finding an accepting barber. [11] <br /><br />As a player for the Hoosiers, Garrett, like all freshmen, was not allowed to play on the varsity team but as soon as he got his chance in 1948 as a sophomore, he made an impact. Garrett officially became the first African American to play for a Big Ten varsity basketball team in the first game of the season, against DePauw University on December 11, 1948. [12] Garrett had an incredibly successful college career as a center for the IU Hoosiers. He graduated in 1951 as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 792 points. [13] During his entire college career, Garrett was the only black basketball player in the Big Ten Conference, but the year after his graduation, “there were six African-Americans playing in the league.” [14] <br /><br />After his collegiate career came to an end, Bill Garrett set his sights on playing professionally, and was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the second round of the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft. He made history again as only “the third-ever African American to drafted” into the NBA. [15] Despite earning this opportunity, Garrett never had the chance to play an NBA game, because he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1951 to fight in the Korean War. [16] After returning home two years later, Garrett was notified that he no longer had a position on the Celtics team. There was an unspoken quota across NBA teams for African Americans, and the Celtics had drafted two other black players, which fulfilled the quota. [17] Even though Garrett never had the opportunity to play in the NBA, he still played professionally with the Harlem Globetrotters entertainment team for two years. [18] <br /><br />After travelling with the Globetrotters, Garrett decided to return to the Indianapolis area where he became the head basketball coach for Crispus Attucks High School. [19] Garrett led the Attucks team to the 1959 Indiana High School State Championship, where Garrett became the first Indiana Mr. Basketball to win a state championship as both a player and a coach. [20] Crispus Attucks High School was built in 1927 as a black high school, and was integrated in 1970 under court order. Crispus Attucks is commemorated with an Indiana Historical Bureau historical marker and listed on the National Register of Historical Places.<br /><br />Following his 10 years as the coach at Crispus Attucks, Garrett worked as the Athletic Director and Assistant Dean of Student Activities at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. [21] Shortly after taking the job, Garrett passed away at the age of 45 from a heart attack on August 7, 1974. <br /><br />Throughout his career, Bill Garrett continuously broke down barriers in Indiana basketball. As the first African American to play for a Big Ten Conference basketball team, Garrett paved the way for others to follow in his footsteps. As a coach, Garrett influenced the lives of the next generation of basketball players. Garrett’s place of prominence in Indiana basketball was recognized in 1974 when he was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. [22] However, Garrett’s impact on basketball was not just felt in Indiana. His integration of the Big Ten Conference affected black athletes across the Midwest, and opened the door for African Americans to compete at the highest levels in basketball for over 70 years.
[1] Rachel Graham Cody, “Fair Play That Changed the Face of the NCAA,” Indianapolis Monthly, November 12, 2012. https://www.indianapolismonthly.com/arts-and-culture/sports/fair-play-that-changed-the-face-of-the-ncaa. <br />[2] Kyle Neddenriep, “Bill Garrett to be honored for integrating Bit Ten basketball 70 years ago,” IndyStar, last updated April 7, 2017, https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/high-school/2017/04/07/bill-garrett-honored-integrating-big-ten-basketball-70-years-ago/100100312/. <br />[3] Janet Williams, “Garrett, Shelbyville basketball great, deserves more acclaim,” TheStaehouseFile.com, December 27, 2018, http://thestatehousefile.com/garrett-shelbyville-basketball-great-deserves-acclaim/37398/. <br />[4] “IHSAA Boys Basketball State Champions,” IHSAA, accessed Monday April 1, 2019, http://www.ihsaa.org/Sports/Boys/Basketball/StateChampions/tabid/124/Default.aspx. <br />[5] Neddenriep, “Bill Garret to be honored.” <br />[6] Ibid. <br />[7] Cody, “Fair Play.” <br />[8] Ibid. <br />[9] Charles S. Preston, “Mr. Basketball of 46-47 Bill Garret, Enters I.U.” Indianapolis Recorder October 4, 1947, https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19471004-01.1.11&srpos=1&e=04-10-1947-25-08-1951--en-20-INR-1-byDA-txt-txIN-%22bill+garrett%22------. <br />[10] Williams, "Garrett, Shelbyville.” <br />[11] Ibid. <br />[12] “I.U. Squat Beats DePauw Quintet In Opener, 61-48,” Indianapolis Recorder, December 11, 1948, https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19481211-01.1.11&srpos=1&e=11-12-1948-25-08-1951--en-20-INR-1-byDA-txt-txIN-%22bill+garrett%22------. <br />[13] Neddenriep, “Bill Garrett to be honored.” <br />[14] Williams, “Garrett, Shelbyville.” <br />[15] Ibid. <br />[16] “’Yanks’ Get Bill Garrett,” Indianapolis Recorder August 25, 1951, https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19510825-01.1.1&srpos=1&e=04-10-1947-25-08-1951--en-20-INR-1-byDA.rev-txt-txIN-%22bill+garrett%22------. <br />[17] Williams, “Garrett, Shelbyville.” <br />[18] Ibid. <br />[19] Neddenriep, “Bill Garrett to be honored.” <br />[20] Williams, “Garrett, Shelbyville.” <br />[21] Neddenriep, “Bill Garrett to be honored.” <br />[22] “Bill Garrett,” Hall of Fame Inductees, Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, https://www.hoopshall.com/hall-of-fame/bill-garrett/?back=HallofFame.
Student Authors: Ben Wilson and Allison Hunt <br />Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson<br />Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey
PHOTO & VIDEO:
Crispus Attucks High School, attributed to Nyttend, Public domain, via Wikimedia commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crispus_Attucks_High_School.jpg
Bill Garrett Coaches Crispus Attucks High School Basketball Team to 1959 State Championship, Indianapolis Recorder Collection, Indiana Historical Society.
https://images.indianahistory.org/digital/collection/p0303/id/458/rec/7
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Marshall "Major" Taylor and Capital City Track
Before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball or Jessie Owens competed in the 1936 Olympics, there was another African American who was fighting for an equal chance in sports around the turn of the twentieth century. Marshall “Major” Taylor was born on August 26, 1878 in Indianapolis, Indiana [1]. As a child, Taylor went to work with his father in the coach house of a wealthy Indianapolis family [2]. After a while, Taylor became very close with one of the boys in the family, Daniel. Because of this, he would later become Daniel’s “playmate,” which would allow him to receive many items that he could use to play with him, the most important being a bicycle [3]. A few years later, Daniel’s family moved away, and Taylor needed to find a new job. One day, Taylor was spotted by a bicycle shop owner doing stunts outside his store. Because of his skills on a bicycle, the owner hired him to perform stunts outside their store to attract customers. [4] Taylor wore a military-style costume when he performed his tricks, leading to him earning the nickname “Major”. [5] Later in 1891 his boss from the bike shop encouraged him to participate at a local race, which he surprisingly won. [6] This sparked his interest in cycling which would later lead to him becoming a professional. <br /><br />Taylor set multiple world records and won multiple national championships during his sixteen-year professional career. In 1896, he set the one-mile record at Capital City Track in Indianapolis. He even won a world championship in 1899, making him only the second African American to win a world championship. [7] Taylor’s skills and accomplishments did not shield him from the realities of his time. Often Taylor would not be able to find hotel accommodations for competitions, be verbally and physically threated by other cyclists. He was even barred from many tracks around the country, including those in his hometown of Indianapolis, because of the color of his skin. [8] Sometimes race officials would even skew the results of a race to prevent Taylor from winning. [9] Even though Major Taylor faced many mental and physical struggles because of the racial tensions in the United States, he still believed that his success on the track would benefit society. He believed that his accomplishments at home and on the world stage proved that African Americans could compete at the same level as whites in the United States. Furthermore, he hoped that his story would inspire young athletes, especially young African American boys, to persevere and strive for greatness. [10] Taylor would also used his public platform to advocate for civil rights. In his 1928 autobiography he states that he hopes his accomplishments and stories help “solicit simple justice, equal rights, and a square deal for the posterity of [his] down-trodden but brave people, not only in athletic games and sports, but in every honorable game of human endeavor.” [11] <br /><br />Sadly, after he retired in 1910, Taylor faced many new challenges. [12] A few years after his career had ended, Taylor had significant financial issues. With the money he had won from cycling, Taylor began to invest in different business ventures which ended up failing causing him to lose much of his earnings. [13] In addition to this, Taylor had a hard time finding a job because there were very few opportunities available for black athletes after their careers had ended. Black athletes were not offered the endorsements or speaking opportunities their white peers may have received. [14] Because of this and his deteriorating health, Taylor would end up falling into poverty during the waning years of his life. [15] After years of facing these struggles, Marshall “Major” Taylor passed away in 1932 and was buried in an unmarked grave in Chicago. In the 1940s, many former cyclists heard about this, and used money donated by the bicycle company owner Frank Schwinn to relocate his body in order to properly remember him and his accomplishments. [16] Seventy years after his final race, his hometown of Indianapolis remembered the cycling champion by creating the Major Taylor Velodrome in the 1980s. [17] Later that same decade, Taylor’s accomplishments in the cycling world were finally recognized nationally when he was inducted into the Bicycling Hall of Fame in 1989. [18] In 2009, a historical marker was installed at at the site of the Capital City Track by the Indiana Historical Bureau, Central Indiana Bicycling Association Foundation, and Indiana State Fair Commission. [19] Through these honors and many others, Taylor’s achievements on and off the track are a great example of the role sports played in the fight toward civil rights.
After Major Taylor was inducted into the Bicycling Hall of Fame in 1989, he finally began to receive recognition for his role as a pioneer in cycling and African American civil rights. Since then he has been the subject of a number of short films including the following peice released by ESPN, which shows amazing footage of Major Taylor actually riding in a six day long endurance event.
<iframe width="700" height="500" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HdBUSkYmeP8" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
In addition to the numerous videos that have been created, the University of Pittsburgh University Library System (ULS) currently holds a collection of scrapbooks that through newspaper clippings from American and foreign presses, document the climate of racial opinion in America and abroad as well as Taylor's reactions along with providing more factual information about professional cycling as a national and international sport. These scrapbooks have been entirely digitized and are available online via the ULS Digital Collections page <a href="https://digital.library.pitt.edu/collection/marshall-w-major-taylor-scrapbooks">here</a>.
Marshall "Major" Taylor also wrote an autobiography, <em>The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World</em>, allowing us some insight into his thoughts and feelings. In the final chapter of his book, Taylor gives advice and encouragement to young black athletes who followed him: <br /><br /><em><span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: medium;">"In closing I wish to say that while I was sorely beset by a number of white riders in my racing days, I have also enjoyed the friendship of countless thousands of white men whom I class as among my closest friends. I made them in this country and all the foreign countries in which I competed. My personal observation and experiences indicate to me that while the majority of white people are considerate of my people, the minority are so bitter in their race prejudice that they actually overshadow the goodwill entertained for us by the majority.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: medium;">Now a few words of advice to boys, and especially to those of my own race, my heart goes out to them as they face life's struggles. I can hardly express in words my deep feeling and sympathy for them, knowing as I do, the many serious handicaps and obstacles that will confront them in almost every walk of life. However, I pray they will carry on in spite of that dreadful monster prejudice, and with patience, courage, fortitude and perseverance achieve success for themselves." [19]</span></em>
<p>[1] Major Taylor, The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World; the Autobiography of Major Taylor.Abridged ed. Brattleboro, Vt: S. Greene Press, 1972, 1. <br />[2] National Museum of American History, “Marshall ‘Major’ Taylor: The incredible story of the first African-American world champion,” March 19, 2014, http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2014/03/marshall-major-taylor-the-incredible-story-of-the-first-african-american-world-champion.html<br />[3] Major Taylor, The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World; the Autobiography of Major Taylor.Abridged ed. Brattleboro, Vt: S. Greene Press, 1972, 1.<br />[4] National Museum of American History, “Marshall ‘Major’ Taylor: The incredible story of the first African-American world champion,” March 19, 2014, http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2014/03/marshall-major-taylor-the-incredible-story-of-the-first-african-american-world-champion.html<br />[5] Lynne Tolman, “Major Taylor Statue Dedication,” Traces 20, no. (Fall 2008): 37.<br />[6] Major Taylor, The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World; the Autobiography of Major Taylor.Abridged ed. Brattleboro, Vt: S. Greene Press, 1972, 4.<br />[7] Randal C. Archibold, “Major Taylor: A world champion bicycle racer whose fame was undermined by prejudice,” New York Times, accessed February 17, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/obituaries/major-taylor-overlooked.html.<br />[8] Major Taylor, The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World; the Autobiography of Major Taylor.Abridged ed. Brattleboro, Vt: S. Greene Press, 1972, 7-49.<br />[9] Ibid, 111.<br />[10] Ibid, x.<br />[11] Ibid.<br />[12] Ibid, 206.<br />[13] “Major Taylor,” Biography, Last modified February 4, 2016, accessed March 11, 2019, https://www.biography.com/people/marshall-walter-major-taylor.<br />[14] National Museum of American History, “Marshall ‘Major’ Taylor.”<br />[15] Ibid.<br />[16] Ibid.<br />[17] Ibid.[18] “Inductees,” U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame, accessed March 11, 2019, https://usbhof.org/inductees/<br />[18] Major Taylor, The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World; the Autobiography of Major Taylor.Abridged ed. Brattleboro, Vt: S. Greene Press, 1972.<br />[19] Indiana Historical Bureau, Marshall "Major" Taylor, https://www.in.gov/history/markers/MajorTaylor.htm.</p>
Student Author: Ben Wilson <br />Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson<br />Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey
<p>PHOTO & VIDEO:<br />Major Taylor, 1906-1907, attributed to Jules Beau, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Major_Taylor,_1906-1907.jpg</p>
<a href="https://www.in.gov/history/markers/MajorTaylor.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indiana Historical Bureau: Historical Markers</a>