Too Black Too Fast
America's Original Athletes
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Art Exhibit Documenting Black Jockeys as America's First Athletes to Exhibit at Tennessee State University
Creative Team to Participate in Distinguished Lecture Series
Nashville, TN For Immediate Release February 3, 2010
Tennessee State University will be featuring the breathtaking and groundbreaking "Too Black Too Fast" multi-media exhibit February 8-March 27. In addition, the creative team consisting of Visual Artist Michael Mcbride and Sculptor George Nock will take part in a distinguished lecture panel on February 15th from 1-3 p.m. On February 25th, Grammy Award Winning Producer Shannon Sanders and Project Manager Derell Stinson will join McBride in a panel focusing on the project's original music componet.
Too Black Too Fast is designed to open the book on a little known chapter of our past and that of the horse-racing world in general; African-Americans and their role in the creation and success of the Thoroughbred horse breeding and racing industries. The exhibit will feature the breathtaking paintings of renowned Visual Artist and Tennessee State Professor Michael McBride and sculptures of Atlanta based-former NFL running back George Nock.
McBride, based out of Nashville, has spent the last decade researching and working on a suite of unique works to illuminate this little known piece of American History; black jockeys as the first American Athletes and the foundation of our modern racing and thoroughbred industry.
More than 200 years before Jackie Robinson took the baseball field black jockeys were dominating what was then America's first pastime; horse racing. Slaves and later freed black men ruled this "Sport of Kings" from 1607-1910. Andrew Jackson had black slave jockeys and legend goes, one was the only person permitted to talk back to him. Some slaves even had agents. The rise and disappearance of black riders is a direct parallel to our country's often-painful social history.
"It started with a simple phone call from a friend and business associate," says McBride. "As a history and horse enthusiast I was immediately intrigued. Once I started researching and discovered the black influence on racing and the thoroughbred breeding industry in America I was astounded and knew I had to help bring this to light." Little by little, McBride began to work on this project while keeping it under the radar, as it seemed to him that this was the best African-American story never told.
Not only is the story of the black in America's racing industry unique, so is the process McBride uses to illustrate it. "I call it the Harris technique", he says. "The oil paintings are created with some house items like, cotton balls, Q-tips, paper towels, my hand and a little brush work." Peggy Harris spent three years inventing this technique and taught it to McBride when he started working for her in her studio about 25 years ago.
The paintings and sculptures are just a small part of a bigger picture. "Too Black Too Fast," will eventually be a multi-media exhibition featuring a national art tour, documentary and soundtrack, all geared toward education.
Acclaimed documentary film director donnie l. betts, whose creative works include "Dearfield" and "Music Is My Life, Politics, My Mistress" the story of Oscar Brown Jr. is directing the documentary, and the soundtrack will be musically supervised by Grammy Award winning producer Nashvillian Shannon Sanders (India Arie, Heather Headley, and Lyle Lovett).
