Too Black Too Fast
America's Original Athletes
Too Black, Too Fast
America's First Sports Stars!
Foreward: by Michael J. McBride
The story of the African American jockey is little known except to those who live and work within the industry. A heartfelt passion for me since 1991, it is my hope to provide a vehicle for all Americans to share in the awareness of the legacy of these athletes; their contributions to the development of the sport of horse racing and to African American history.
The history of the sport of horse racing is rich in its diversity and intertwined with the achievements of the African American horsemen: a story that is all but lost in the American culture. It is thoroughly important that we recognize and commemorate the excellence of the African American jockey.
Introduction
Too Black Too Fast the brainchild of artist Michael McBride, began with a
conversation in 1991. McBride was approached by Yusef Harris, a friend and business associate. Harris had been contacted by an employee of Churchill Downs (Louisville, Kentucky) because of his extensive knowledge of African-American literature. Having spent time in Louisville and in Lexington, Kentucky at various street festivals and fairs over the years, Harris contacted McBride to discuss the knowledge of paintings of Black jockeys.
McBride had never before heard of Black horse jockeys. Being a history buff, McBride began to research this aspect of equestrian racing history. He was quite surprised with what he discovered. He hungered for more knowledge about this industry and the role of African-Americans. With each discovery McBride began formulating a plan to bring these facts to light through art.
Brief History
Horse racing is a dangerous sport because of the size and speed of the animals. It takes expert horsemanship to handle these powerful, magnificent animals and guide them to victory. Mastering skills to become an expert rider makes Black jockey stories even more fascinating and paradoxical in tone. Blacks became involved in horse racing in America in 1607 and ruled the sport from 1607-1910. The riders were slaves, small in stature and very young mere boys, typically between 13-15 years old. It was a time when the intelligence, skill and ability of Black jockeys let alone the very humanity of Blacks was in question.
Landowners wagered money, tobacco crops, deeds to farms, slaves, or just about anything of value. The best master-and-slave racing teams were so successful they resorted to trickery to get people to race against them. One such story even involved our seventh president of the United States, Andrew Old Hickory Jackson. Still another is that of a Black jockey who accumulated so much wealth, he hired an agent to handle his winnings and negotiate the freedom of his entire family.
The master and slave relationship in the horse racing industry blurred most societal and racial lines of the time. Essentially Black horse jockeys and trainers were treated like modern day athletic superstars for Americas first true sport. If the Blood horses were King of the Wind, Black jockeys were crowned princes from 1613-1910.
Some Black jockeys traveled into other territories and states by themselves to race, which was unheard of for Blacks during that time in American history. In the aftermath of slavery, Jim Crow laws legalized segregation, prohibiting African-Americans from congregating with whites in public settings. Laws on segregation were used to exclude Black jockeys from horse racing as the sport had become very lucrative in the United States. Most of this little known American history takes place in and around the state of Tennessee and its bordering states. However, accounts of Black jockey lore go as far north as New York, Illinois and Ohio, and internationally to countries such as Russia, France, England, and Hungary.
Principals
As McBride began to work on the art pieces for this project, he retained management of his career through Renaissance Entertainment, LLC. Derell Stinson, the company's managing partner at the time, realized they would need a bigger canvas than just a visual art exhibition to tell this piece of American history. McBride and Stinson expanded the project to include a documentary, full length feature film, sound track, literary pursuits and educational materials.
For the visual art component of the project, McBrides stunning paintings will be joined by the work of national renowned sculptor, former NFL player George Nock. donnie l. betts met McBride and Stinson at the Nashville Film Festival in 2006 and joined the project immediately to direct and write the documentary. donnie is an acclaimed documentary film director, whose creative works include Deerfield and Music Is My Life, Politics My Mistress (the story of Oscar
Brown Jr. which debuted in February 2007 on Public Broadcasting Service nationwide). The final key component of the project will be the documentary sound track, which will be produced by two-time Grammy® Award winning writer and producer Shannon Sanders (India.Arie, Heather Headley, and Lyle Lovett).
In addition, James Threalkill completes the "Artistic Triple Crown" of Too Black Too Fast by painting "The Legacy Continues,..." a series of twelve portraits and thirteen race scenes post Jim Crow Era. Threalkill has been McBride's studio mate for nine years.
