WORCESTER – A PBS channel in Bloomington, Indiana, WTIU, will air a new documentary, “Major Taylor: Champion of the Race,” including streaming the program on the PBS App and on its YouTube channel on Monday, Feb. 26, at 8 PM EST.
The one-hour documentary film explores the life of Taylor and the legacy he left behind. The film includes historians, athletes, and advocates for social justice, discussing Taylor’s accomplishments and the discrimination he faced as an all-world athlete at the turn of the 20th century.
Taylor, nicknamed the “Worcester Whirlwind”, was the first African American world champion cyclist in 1899 and the second black world champion in any sport.
Taylor broke amateur records before turning professional at age 18 in 1896, the same year he moved to Worcester. In 1898 and 1899, Taylor set world records in race distances ranging from a quarter-mile to the two-mile. Taylor won the Men’s sprint at the ICA Track Cycling World Championships in 1899 in Montreal, Quebec, and was national sprint champion in 1899 and 1900.
After retiring in 1910, at age 32, Taylor lived in Worcester until 1930. He died in Chicago in June 1932 at age 53.
See the trailer for the film, below.
