Kadir Nelson’s “Major Taylor, a Champion Who Led the Way”

For the screen of the June 2, 2025, issue, the creator Kadir Nelson features Marshall W. (Major) Taylor starring a parade of bicyclists from eras past and present. “I wanted to wage tribute to the astir celebrated cyclist successful the nineteenth century—the archetypal African American superstar of immoderate sport—and to the epic six-day indoor cycling lawsuit successful 1896 astatine Madison Square Garden’s velodrome, wherever Taylor competed,” Nelson said. Though Taylor was admired during his epoch for being the “world’s fastest man,” helium besides encountered a batch of racism and aggression passim his career; helium was erstwhile knocked disconnected his motorcycle and choked to unconsciousness by a achromatic racer. In December, 2023, a measure to grant Taylor the Congressional Gold Medal was introduced successful the U.S. House of Representatives.

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