I know this is a hot button topic, but I raced a couple years in the St Louis area, which has local bastions of racism, perhaps like every metro area in the Midwest, or even the US, and while not apparent on the surface, there sure were some red flags, for example:

1. crash occurs during Tue night practice crits, white racer is seriously injured, black racer is accused of riding "too aggressively"

2. junior racer from mixed race marriage is crashed out in Tue night crit, brakes wrist; no longer racing in the area

3. links to personal web page of my dark-skinned wife and child (I am Caucasian) are posted on local bicycle message board in retaliation for my political views; my full name, address, and phone are posted along with physical threats

4. race promoter tells racist joke at beginning of cyclocross race; same promoter is regularly "kidded" about his Jewish heritage

5. race promoter nicknames his January cyclocross series championship race "The All-Celtic Nations Trophy"

6. back in 70's the St Louis Cycling Club refused membership to an African-Am cyclist based on his race; St Louis Cyclones were formed in protest; however, now the Cyclones have zero Af-Am racers

7. out of the hundreds of local racers, there are perhaps two African-Americans who regularly participate in local races, vastly out of proportion to the local African-American population

These may just be isolated facts, and I'm not sure if they add up to "racism", but I just wonder if you have experienced similar things in your region, maybe this is just a St Louis thing. Bill H.

#3 isn't just a red flag. You need to get the moderator/admin of that message board to remove the offending remarks and personal info. If the mod/admin is worth his or her salt, he/she will lay down some law about acceptable posts. Physical threats? Maybe a call to your local PD is in order.

Sorry to hear of this. I hope this doesn't deter you from riding and racing.

sounds like there are some prejudiced people in your area's cycling communitiy. doesn't surprise me, unfortunantly. i can't speak for all of my area, but we seem to be more tolerate, but far from being completely open. the riders themselves tend to pack together and that kinda stuff, but i've never heard any racist jokes from a promoter or organizer. i don't think people would have it.

Do they all ride European or Italian bikes? Campy is the household name. Shimano what??? :) I think it is the people. I guess they have their own illusion of grandeur. Beside, bike racing is very European and somewhat international.


I know this is a hot button topic, but I raced a couple years in the St Louis area, which has local bastions of racism, perhaps like every metro area in the Midwest, or even the US, and while not apparent on the surface, there sure were some red flags, for example:

1. crash occurs during Tue night practice crits, white racer is seriously injured, black racer is accused of riding "too aggressively"

2. junior racer from mixed race marriage is crashed out in Tue night crit, brakes wrist; no longer racing in the area

3. links to personal web page of my dark-skinned wife and child (I am Caucasian) are posted on local bicycle message board in retaliation for my political views; my full name, address, and phone are posted along with physical threats

4. race promoter tells racist joke at beginning of cyclocross race; same promoter is regularly "kidded" about his Jewish heritage

5. race promoter nicknames his January cyclocross series championship race "The All-Celtic Nations Trophy"

6. back in 70's the St Louis Cycling Club refused membership to an African-Am cyclist based on his race; St Louis Cyclones were formed in protest; however, now the Cyclones have zero Af-Am racers

7. out of the hundreds of local racers, there are perhaps two African-Americans who regularly participate in local races, vastly out of proportion to the local African-American population

These may just be isolated facts, and I'm not sure if they add up to "racism", but I just wonder if you have experienced similar things in your region, maybe this is just a St Louis thing. Bill H.

Happy to say that we don't have nearly as many of these episodes to report on here in my area.
1. riding "too aggressively" isn't a cultural difference. It's just poor judgement.

2. Hard to prove intent.

3. was it your marriage that got the threat? Or your politcal views ?

4. race promoter should be disbarred.

5. race promoter should be disbarred. Some people are still living in the Dark Ages.

6. and 7. The only place where I've seen an active A-A club is Chicago. Not to say they don't exist elsewhere, but it seems that the sport just doesn't appeal to African Americans as much.

Again, I'm happy to report that riders in our area welcome any rider.

We'll never mention the color of your skin, but we reserve the right to give you a ton of grief over your choice of bikes.

#3 isn't just a red flag. You need to get the moderator/admin of that message board to remove the offending remarks and personal info. If the mod/admin is worth his or her salt, he/she will lay down some law about acceptable posts. Physical threats? Maybe a call to your local PD is in order.

Sorry to hear of this. I hope this doesn't deter you from riding and racing.

Unfortunately, this message board was completely anonymous, voyforums.com, located in Santa Barbara, CA. The admin of the board was complicit in the threats. The board was finally taken down about 2 months after my initial complaints to the voyforums staff. I did file a complaint with the local PD but they did not subpeona voyforums or anything, just said they would put extra patrols around my house. No further threats I'm glad to say.

Happy to say that we don't have nearly as many of these episodes to report on here in my area.
1. riding "too aggressively" isn't a cultural difference. It's just poor judgement.

2. Hard to prove intent.

3. was it your marriage that got the threat? Or your politcal views ?

4. race promoter should be disbarred.

5. race promoter should be disbarred. Some people are still living in the Dark Ages.

6. and 7. The only place where I've seen an active A-A club is Chicago. Not to say they don't exist elsewhere, but it seems that the sport just doesn't appeal to African Americans as much.

Again, I'm happy to report that riders in our area welcome any rider.

We'll never mention the color of your skin, but we reserve the right to give you a ton of grief over your choice of bikes.


I agree with the above response. It seems that, for the most part, that the billh is seeing racism where it really doesn't exist....especially the first two where race prob had nothing to do with it. And the last one is also seeing racism in the wrong light.....blaming "whitey" for the lack of black cyclist. That being said, billh may be racist himself for seeing things only thru a racist vision. I live in a town that is infamous for racism....and believe me it applies to all sides. All I can say is that remove the racism from your own heart first before throwing any stones.



tomcat

People are judgementalists, that's just the way it is. Whether it's against black people, white people, asian people, Campy, Serotta, Brooks Brothers or JNCO, people on the whole don't like the opposite of what they are. I'm not saying everyone dislikes every opposite, but I'll bet a lot of you have a lot of disdain for fat people. Or unthinking motorists. Or communists. Or beggars on the street. Or rich people that don't need to work to buy a Colnago. We can't all get along. It's human nature. It's nature. Get over it.

Cole

I agree with the above response. It seems that, for the most part, that the billh is seeing racism where it really doesn't exist....especially the first two where race prob had nothing to do with it. And the last one is also seeing racism in the wrong light.....blaming "whitey" for the lack of black cyclist. That being said, billh may be racist himself for seeing things only thru a racist vision. I live in a town that is infamous for racism....and believe me it applies to all sides. All I can say is that remove the racism from your own heart first before throwing any stones.



tomcat

My point on #1 was that there are plenty of crashes where people get seriously injured and people go off even fight, but the rage after this particular crash was up a notch on the hostility scale. I thought they were going to lynch the guy.

Yeah, no doubt even bringing up this topic shows that I'm thinking about race, and probably have some biased racial stereotypes embedded in my psyche; it's just little things keep adding up. Maybe I should just chalk it up to chance.

Yeah, no doubt even bringing up this topic shows that I'm thinking about race, and probably have some biased racial stereotypes embedded in my psyche; it's just little things keep adding up. Maybe I should just chalk it up to chance.

don't let it eat at you too much. when i lived in a poor neighborhood in brooklyn, and got called racial slurs often, i let it cloud my judgement too much. i slowly got dragged down to their level and suddenly i was looking at race all the time. i would be way too sensitive walking around and felt like people were staring me down when they weren't doing anything at all. you have to come to terms with yourself and try not to jump to conclusions. believe me, once you look hard enough, you can convience yourself of anything.

My point on #1 was that there are plenty of crashes where people get seriously injured and people go off even fight, but the rage after this particular crash was up a notch on the hostility scale. I thought they were going to lynch the guy.

Yeah, no doubt even bringing up this topic shows that I'm thinking about race, and probably have some biased racial stereotypes embedded in my psyche; it's just little things keep adding up. Maybe I should just chalk it up to chance.

What your post lacks is any mention (I could see anyway) as to what caused the crash. Did he (whatever ethnic or racial background) do something stupid in a practice race, for gosh sakes, to create ire amongst the other riders...I've seen guys do some really dumb stuff in practice crits because they really suck on the weekend.

FWIW...I saw similar things happen between Flemish and French speaking riders in Belgium...same race and nationality, just different areas of the country speaking different languages...

What your post lacks is any mention (I could see anyway) as to what caused the crash. Did he (whatever ethnic or racial background) do something stupid in a practice race, for gosh sakes, to create ire amongst the other riders...I've seen guys do some really dumb stuff in practice crits because they really suck on the weekend.

FWIW...I saw similar things happen between Flemish and French speaking riders in Belgium...same race and nationality, just different areas of the country speaking different languages...

I didn't witness it personally. This was the "A" race, CAt 1, 2, coming up to the final sprint, which was on a car race track so partially hid from view by a building. The claim was that the black guy made some sort of aggressive move, like cutting in front of someone. The guy was fast. I saw him come from the back of the pack in a race later that year and pass a bunch of guys to finish top 3. The guy he allegedly crashed out was a very popular racer and now a local Shimano rep. He required plastic surgery to repair his face. So . . . I don't really know who caused what. I just saw a lot of guys yelling at officials and looking like they were going to rip someone's head off. Maybe race had nothing to do with it. Then again, taken with all the other little things involving race, maybe it was a factor.

Guy you're in Missouri, I seriously doubt the problem is within the club so much as within the community at large. I've seen similar attitudes farther south and I relate it to most high end racers being white and middle class or better in income not with the hobby they choose. They may be better at disguising it and feeling confidently open-minded in their newly learned methods of political correctness but the fear remains.

I agree with the above response. It seems that, for the most part, that the billh is seeing racism where it really doesn't exist....especially the first two where race prob had nothing to do with it. And the last one is also seeing racism in the wrong light.....blaming "whitey" for the lack of black cyclist. That being said, billh may be racist himself for seeing things only thru a racist vision. I live in a town that is infamous for racism....and believe me it applies to all sides. All I can say is that remove the racism from your own heart first before throwing any stones.



tomcat


I watched the movie about little rock and those (its hard to catorgize) but african american kids with all that stuff, was pretty inyteresting.

Damn. I live in South Carolina, but that crap doesn't go on with us. We all train and race together, only separated by age, sex, and ability.

There is an African-American cycling club in Atlanta. I rode with them for about 45 miles at the 2002 Claxton Century.

I didn't witness it personally. This was the "A" race, CAt 1, 2, coming up to the final sprint, which was on a car race track so partially hid from view by a building. The claim was that the black guy made some sort of aggressive move, like cutting in front of someone. The guy was fast. I saw him come from the back of the pack in a race later that year and pass a bunch of guys to finish top 3. The guy he allegedly crashed out was a very popular racer and now a local Shimano rep. He required plastic surgery to repair his face. So . . . I don't really know who caused what. I just saw a lot of guys yelling at officials and looking like they were going to rip someone's head off. Maybe race had nothing to do with it. Then again, taken with all the other little things involving race, maybe it was a factor.

I guess if people were yelling racial slurs or stating that this happened, "because he's black" or something to that effect, then you might have an issue. But if he did something stupid (like cutting off someone in a sprint in a practice race and seriously injuring them) then I suspect the other riders had an issue with him...
I'd be pretty ticked off, too, if I got seriously hurt in a practice race...and that might have been the source of everyone's irritation.
Plastic surgery from a conditioning race on a weeknight....yeah, I'd be p!ssed off...

Move to Seattle. Nothing like that here.

Are cyclist racist? Is there a section of the population that is racist? The answer is yes so I would believe that a section of the cycling population would be racist also. Just like there are some that are gay, jewish, chatholic, democrat and republican. I don't believe that that it's a systemic problem, I'm always amazed at these types of threads because it makes it seem as if cyclists are different from the rest of the population. We are all people, just people who happen to ride bikes. We are still subject to the same faults that anyother person is subject too.

Bicycling is just another of many sports that doesn't have many African Americans. I also paddle whitewater kayaks and there are very few Afro-Americans. Does that make kayakers racist? No. It's simply issues of socio-economics, culture, etc. Different strokes for different folks. I have found that when I see blacks or other minorities involved in these sports that most people go out of their way to be open and friendly.


tomcat

I think you have to take several things into account. In general, African-Americans have lower incomes then most whites so cant neccesarily afford a road bike, let alone be on a team and whatnot. I am not racist or anything, but if you look at the groups of people who live in poverty and the such, they are mostly minorities. There was one famous black-cyclist in the states 60 - 80 years ago, forget his name, but he was around when velodrome (not circular tracks, but crisscrossing ones) were very big in the US (Pre-WWII i believe) and the tracks were made out of wood. There was one in MSG too. Cycling doesnt get as much publicity as sports such as Soccer and Football in the US, so that can contribute to it too. Back in the day, many sports were only for rich-white-people, and some still are (golfing, for example, is predominantly white - golf club memberships, sweaters, etc) so i think that is why there are very few black people who race.

I think you have to take several things into account. In general, African-Americans have lower incomes then most whites so cant neccesarily afford a road bike, let alone be on a team and whatnot. I am not racist or anything, but if you look at the groups of people who live in poverty and the such, they are mostly minorities. There was one famous black-cyclist in the states 60 - 80 years ago, forget his name, but he was around when velodrome (not circular tracks, but crisscrossing ones) were very big in the US (Pre-WWII i believe) and the tracks were made out of wood. There was one in MSG too. Cycling doesnt get as much publicity as sports such as Soccer and Football in the US, so that can contribute to it too. Back in the day, many sports were only for rich-white-people, and some still are (golfing, for example, is predominantly white - golf club memberships, sweaters, etc) so i think that is why there are very few black people who race.

His name was Major Taylor and he was a world champion track rider. It's more than just the economic issue. Look at who an African American kid or an Latin American kid has as a sports role model. African Americans dominate football and basketball while Latin athletes are very prominent in baseball. Also there is the fact that cyclings farm league doesn't start untill a kid is in his or her teens. By that time most kids have played soccer, pee-wee football, basketball or softball. No matter what your ethnic background there is little on no exposure to cycling at a very young age. Add to that the fact that for the most part cycling is sport that is hard to understand from a team aspect. Most people look at it as an individual sport which, after years of playing team sports, doesn't appeal to many kids. It's hard to walk around campus in your team kit as opposed to a lettermans jacket. Then there is the reward factor. When a kid practicing his free-throws thinks that he can sign a "LeBron James contract" right out of high school that's pretty enticing.

I would also be very curious as to how many of us who took up cycling were not very good at stick and ball sports. If I had been a good football player (my favorite s&b sport) I may never have developed an interest in bike racing. The fact of the matter is I'm a dog slow runner but for some reason I'm reasonably fast on a bike (I know different muscle groups). I was also a 135# in high school with about 3" vertical leap and I hate baseball.

I can think of several sports that minorities have very low participation in. Auto racing, golf, tennis, swimming, water polo, gynastics the list goes on. With exception of golf and tennis, due to the "clubs" associated with those sports, I don't see that it's rasism that keeps minorities from participating. BTW if it matters I'm hispanic.

Bicycling is just another of many sports that doesn't have many African Americans. I also paddle whitewater kayaks and there are very few Afro-Americans. Does that make kayakers racist? No. It's simply issues of socio-economics, culture, etc. Different strokes for different folks. I have found that when I see blacks or other minorities involved in these sports that most people go out of their way to be open and friendly.


tomcat

Kayakers are racist, man... They really scare me. ;) :D

Koffee

The fact is that the world is full of bigots. Take me for example.... or all the black preachers railing against gays and lesbians....

However, I think that socio-economic disparities contribute to some sports continuing to be 'white' long after other sports have successfully integrated...cycling is one of those sports. Another is lacrosse (mid-western & western cyclist may not be familiar with this sport). On the eastern seaboard, lacrosse is a big-time club, high school and college sport. Public schools have teams, but the private schools live and breath lacrosse and hence, the Division I college teams are almost 100 percent white. Local Baltimore private high schools routinely send 10 or so kids per year to full-boat scholarships to Ivy League schools to play lacrosse.

I would pay to see a 275 lbs, 5 percent body-fat, pro draft material division I linebacker play lacrosse. Those white boys would run the other way….

Kayakers are racist, man... They really scare me. ;) :D

Koffee

hey...just because we're men who wear skirts, talk about ferries (or worse...blowing ferries), doing enders and squirts, and the length of our shafts doesn't mean with bigots. :)

tomcat

Man, that's inflammatory talk! You better watch that mouth of yours!

;)

Koffee

Gosh, as sad as it is we just live in a world where people suck. Sorry to hear about your troubles but I'm glad to hear that it looks to be resolved.

There is an African-American cycling club in Atlanta.

Not to raise a stink. But, How is THAT not, by definition, an entire racist organization? I am not allowed to join because of the color of my skin? :mad:

Where I ride. All are welcome. It is the way an individual acts that matters to me.

Seriously. I doubt if you walked into that club and wanted to join they'd turn you away. They'd probably be happy to see someone supporting them that was of a different ethnicity.

When I was in college, I joined the Asian American Association. No one denied me entry, and I attended the meetings and participated in social functions, mingled with Asians of different countries and had a really good time. Sure, they were a little surprised, but no biggie. They were happy for the support and a different viewpoint.

All us ethnics aren't up at arms if white people want to join our associations and support us. We're all good.

Koffee

I would pay to see a 275 lbs, 5 percent body-fat, pro draft material division I linebacker play lacrosse. Those white boys would run the other way….

Ever heard of Jim Brown?

We'd better start a government program to help minorities get into cycling. Perhaps a quota? The vast right wing conspiracy must be behind this!

Seriously, I'm sure there is some racism. As long as it is not policy of any organization or governmental unit, it's kind of hard to fight.

Too much speculation, if you ask me.

If you want to be part of the Nation, man... you got issues!

Koffee

I have never heard of anything like that happening around here, but it doesn't mean that everything is perfect. However, I have heard (from people who live there) that St Louis is kind of segregated, that there are neighborhoods where no white people live and vice versa. You just don't see that in Montreal. REmember, this is where Jackie Robinson played! However, the cycling scene is still ovewhelmingly white, but I am beginning to see some kids of mixed parentage- the younger generations especially. ANd no one would ever do anything like the website- politics just doesn't come up, nor should it divide a team. I am appalled that anyone would do anything that insulting or tasteless, and it just wouldn't be tolerated by anyone I know. I don'tthink cyclists are more or less racist than anyone else, although it is still a largely white sport.I think it is more regional thing. Around here if cyclists don't get along it's because of personalities or whatever. There's one guy around here, people on his team don't like him. Apparently he's a real d*ck, but he's a great athlete so they need him!

It's segregated in Montreal... don't they have a reservation out there? Took me nearly an hour to ride to by bike.

Montreal is an ethnically diverse town, but a lot of metropolitan cities are. However, I do think that the ethnic diversity is less controversial out of our country than in the USA. When I'm here in the USA, it's a lot more obvious that the name of the game in metropolitan cities is assimilation of ethnic groups... ethnic groups are just not encouraged to maintain an identity as much in the USA.

Koffee

Then go with the Hare Krishnas. They are a lot less scary and they'll take ya anyday. ;)

And the best golfer ain't Tiger anymore (who claims he's Cabalasian or whatever the heck he says he is), it's Vijay Singh, and he's Indian.

Eminem is played out. Nowadays, the best rapper is Lil' Jon or Jay-Z. Sir Charles is off in his game.

;)

Koffee

In my city, there are the "official" roadies, with fancy bikes, the shoes, the shorts, the jerseys. In a town that is 30% African-American and 50% Hispanic, the groups of roadies I see going down to road look very much like the Swedish cycling team. These "pale riders" are probably chosing to ride with their friends, and with people they already know. But, an African-American guy, or Hispanic guy interested in road bikes might feel a bit reluctant to join a group that does not appear very "open" to diversity. Probably no REAL barrier exists, but...

Do African-American athletes have problems competing in "Anglo-only" competitions? My eight year old nephew has both African-Americans and European Jews in his family heritage. When he was six, he was playing basketball in a league at the Jewish Community Center. He was ,by far, the most talented player, but, unfortunately, he was NOT a team player. In a typical game, the score might end up being 30 to 6. And, he would scored 24 of the 30 points. When he was playing aggressive defense, the other team would end up not getting a shot, as he simply kept taking the ball away from the other team.

As I sat among the parents and family members watching the games, I would hear comments such as "Well, of course HE can play basketball...one thing HIS people are good at is basketball."

And, although such comments might SEEM to be a compliment, I found them insulting. He and I had been playing "one on one" since he was three years old. At age five and six, he was obsessed with basketball, playing eight to twelve hours a week, usually against players who were two to four years older than he was. His skills were the result of hours and hours of hard work and practice, not any "gift" from his klutzy, non-athletic African-American parent.

I suspect he came to sense the resentment of the other players and their parents. Instead of "scaling back" his game, learning to pass the ball once in a blue moon, and learning to NOT play aggressive defense, he just kinda lost interest in playing basketball with other kids. Now, he will only play against teenagers and adults, where he has some real competition. And he is putting his energy into riding bikes, where he does not have to worry about hurting peoples' feelings when he goes "all out".

My nephews are mixed, but strongly encouraged to ride bikes. I take them out with me every time I'm in town, and I got them both bikes. They know who Greg LeMond, Tyler Hamilton and Lance Armstrong are, and they are 5 and 7 years old. They are not into any other sports... just cycling. I would pay endless money if they decided to take it up seriously, and I hope that other kids in their class, regardless of ethnicity, get into cycling.

I think the important thing to keep in mind is that we need to encourage people, irregardless of race, to get into cycling. The more the numbers grow, the more likely the media is to take cycling more seriously. And I still think cycling is one of those sports that has the potential to overcome different cultures and racial backgrounds.

Koffee

There was an excellent article about this very subject a number of years ago in Bike magazine entitled: "Is Mountain Biking Too White?" I don't remember everything it said but it did mention that young people are only going to do the sports that they're offered, and that's usually not "hardware" sports. Inner-city youth that live in the ghetto, black or white, will probably not wax thier skiis and hit the slopes.

His name was Major Taylor and he was a world champion track rider. It's more than just the economic issue.

And here in Indiana, his spirit lives on... (http://www.teammajortaylor.com)
You can help some great kids, bike racers, get through college.

BTW...don't forget Nelson Vails (http://www.enter.net/~kiddycar/hall-fame/vails2004.html)

Well, it's true that we gravitate to sports that are available- hence basketball being popular in the inner city. It costs nothing to go to the court and play, whereas buying a road bike might be a bit prohibitive if you live, say, in a project. And in europe, cycling is still very white, even more so than in the US, but look at the tour of qatar and Langkawi, where you see teams from malaysia, japan, etc.

Hello, I'm from St. Louis and have no clue what this thread is about --and I have read every post so far.

My school is integrated, not as much as it should be --higher education is still pretty racially stratified, especially a private university like mine --but they are getting there, and things are getting better. Stuff, especially things like social progress, will never move as quickly as we'd like, or they should.

My workplace is 50/50 black and white, and practically every place I've worked in the last 11 years in St. Louis has been integrated with almost the same ratio.

This thread is idiotic. Seriously, you might as well start a thread "Are Dodge Caravan owners racist". I'm sure some are. Bad apples in every bunch.

And thanks for making my city look like a bunch of backwards rednecks.

You're overly sensitive, and worse yet --you're extremely paranoid.

I honestly think that the thread was started by someone that took a non-racial issue: A cyclist getting repremanded for crashing another rider. And turning it into this, just like the media does:

An African-American cyclist was unfairly repremanded by a white official because he allegedly caused a white rider to crash.

Three things:
1. The race of the riders had nothing to do with it. It was made into a racial issue by bringing race into a non-racial situation. Any rider that causes a crash, SHOULD be repremanded.

2. If you go around saying African-American istead of black, then you should say European-American instead of white. If you think the second one is rediculous, and not the first one, then that is racist. :rolleyes:

3. Why can't people, and the media, just drop it. I think it should be illegal for the media to point out peoples races when it has nothing to do with the REAL story. But, they do it because it is what MAKES it a story. Sad. :(

Kayakers are racist, man... They really scare me. ;) :D

Koffee

Us kayakers are a racist bunch. That's why we only like whitewater. :p

Some interesting and not so interesting comments. I'm president of a Black Cycling club in Atlanta GA. Personally I don't have any problems with racism when I'm on the bike. I do lot's of rides with all different types of riders. Some races and some recreational. Our club is made up of mostly recreational riders and most are over 40. I think due to the high startup cost, and nature of the sport we don't have many young black kids interested. Who want's to go to some small town, suffer like a dog to finish tp 10 in a cat 4 race when you could play ball in front of your friends. This is a sport you have to love.

Some interesting and not so interesting comments. I'm president of a Black Cycling club in Atlanta GA. Personally I don't have any problems with racism when I'm on the bike. I do lot's of rides with all different types of riders. Some races and some recreational. Our club is made up of mostly recreational riders and most are over 40. I think due to the high startup cost, and nature of the sport we don't have many young black kids interested. Who want's to go to some small town, suffer like a dog to finish tp 10 in a cat 4 race when you could play ball in front of your friends. This is a sport you have to love.

Thanks for posting. I have an honest respectable question.....why is it acceptable to have a "black" cycling club in today's PC world? This same question haunts me when I hear of the Miss Black America Pageant or other similar event. It would not be acceptable to have a Miss White America, White History Month, etc. Again, I ask this question with an open mind and heart. I just want a race-free society but I see these things as harmful. Please help me understand.


tomcat

I understand your question. Kinda like the "Black Quarterback" non issue. But if you see a club and 9 out 10 cyclist are Black what do you call the club? We also have a 2 point mission statement. To try and get more blacks involved in cycling and enhance comradery amongst all cyclists. Since we have some riders who race a little, do a little untra distance events, and recreation rides we have people from different types of road riding come to our rides. That obviously has nothing to do with race, but it makes people aware of different challenges the sport has to offer.

quote...."To try and get more blacks involved in cycling and enhance comradery amongst all cyclists."

I like that. I just wish we all would move on in our society and drop all references to race in any form. I wish you and your cycling club the best.


tomcat

Thanks for brining up that question, tomcat. Sorry, maccpres, you're club is still in the wrong. Until I can have a "white cycling club" like you have a "black cycling club," then you're out of line. I'm so tired of this "black-only" BS and it being OK and even glorified in the media. Chris Rock making whitey jokes while hosting some big-name awards show on primetime TV. Blacks wearing t-shirts such as "Black by Popular Demand." And then you've got the Essence Awards, and on and on and on. Let's try and have Seinfeld host the Grammy's and blurt out black joke after black joke. Let me put on a "White Power" t-shirt and walk through Wal-Mart. And then, let's have the Cracker Awards while we're at it. I mean, hey, we'd just be doing what the blacks are doing. And of course, this would all be OK, right? Give me an effin' break, man. That crap would be halted in a nanosecond. Yet it's alright and accepted for the blacks to do it. And like some others said, it's not African-American, it's black. I'm white, not Spanish-American, even though my pops is from Spain.

Hello, I'm from St. Louis and have no clue what this thread is about --and I have read every post so far.

My workplace is 50/50 black and white, and practically every place I've worked in the last 11 years in St. Louis has been integrated with almost the same ratio.

And thanks for making my city look like a bunch of backwards rednecks.

You're overly sensitive, and worse yet --you're extremely paranoid.

Not to pick on St. Louis, but, in your city, African-Americans are now HALF of the city's population (178,000, out of 348,000), yet the partners at the largest law firms are still 95% Anglos, as are 95% of corporate executives making more than 100,000 dollars per year, as are 90% of the families living in the most exclusive neighborhoods, as are 90% of the graduates of the elite universities. And, St. Louis looks just about like Dallas, Memphis, Houston, Phoenix...America in the year 2005.

Some might think all of those outcomes are due only to "hard work and ability"...many African-Americans don't agree.

The "gateway" to the best paying jobs is education. If you limit educational opportunities for any group of Americans, you will also limit their career opportunities. About 20% of the taxpayers who fund the University of Texas are African-American. Yet, traditionally, less than 5% of UT graduates have been African-American. However, in 2004, African-American enrollment grew to almost 10% of the first year class at UT. And, some white folks had a hissy fit.

The governor of Texas now wants to pass a law that would REDUCE the number of African-Americans attending the University of Texas. His position seems to be that reducing the number of African-American students at UT will create more "slots" for white Anglo students, who are already waaay over-represented at the University of Texas. And, by reducing the number of African-Americans with college degrees, the governor will also be limiting job opportunities for them.

America is a better place to live than it was in 1955. But, there is still much work to do.

And, YOU are the authority as to whether African-Americans have the "right" to refer to themselves as "African-American" or not? Reading your post as a whole, I see a lot of anger. A fella who think his problems in life are the result of "Chris Rock's jokes", or who is offended by folks using the term "African-American" without first getting some white boy's consent....well, he has got some issues...and ought to get professional help.

Oh, I'm sorry. Your ancestors from 65 generations ago actually lived on the continent of Africa. Go ahead and call yourself African-American, yet ask your high school "African-Americans" to point to Africa on a map, and it's a crapshoot. Ask them what tribe they orginate from, and they'll probably say the Wu Tang Clan. And it's not just blacks who can't find Africa...it's your everyday, any race, high school kid. Pathetic, but that's another topic.

And, YOU are the authority as to whether African-Americans have the "right" to refer to themselves as "African-American" or not? Reading your post as a whole, I see a lot of anger. A fella who think his problems in life are the result of "Chris Rock's jokes", or who is offended by folks using the term "African-American" without first getting some white boy's consent....well, he has got some issues...and ought to get professional help.

So, comment on my "anger," then. Why is that Chris Rock can do his thing, blacks can wear the things they do, and it's mainstream to have black-only awards and such? It's not anger, by the way. It's annoyance. I'm tired of the double standard. And then when whites participates in these "liberties," it's race card time.