The Oakland Cycling Club had an event at Shell Mound Park the previous summer. It was the first mention of a Black cycling club, in the San Francisco Bay area, that I could find. Notice the change in tone of this San Francisco Examiner article; it is respectful, which is remarkable for 1896, unlike the Oakland Tribune covering a local event the year before, treating the event like a joke. The same photo in this article is repurposed, later, a better version is added with Idella (Allen) Johnson. I'll publish it soon. I'm publishing these in chronological order, as they were published, trying to tell the story. - MF
MANY CYCLERS OF COLOR.
Oakland Has a Bicycle Club Composed Entirely of Negroes.
Will Give a Big Picnic and Races at Shell Mound Park Next July.
IS A VERY SUCCESSFUL ORGANIZATION.
The Coming Picnic Will Be the Great Outdoor Gathering of the Colored Folk of the Coast.
Alameda County Bureau "The Examiner,"
918 Broadway, Oakland.
OAKLAND, May 24. - Oakland has the first cycling club in the country to be organized exclusively of colored men. It has been named the Oakland Cycling Club, and they are preparing to give a series of races, games and a big picnic at Shell Mound Park on July 16th next.
Oakland has a large negro population, mainly of the highly educated class. They have several strong literary, religious, social and political organizations in Oakland. and they command considerable political recognition.
Some time ago the younger colored men in Oakland determined to have an athletic club with wheeling as the special feature. So the club was organized by Harry F. Williams, who is now the Captain: J. C. Moore, the First Lieutenant, and William Morrey Second Lieutenant. It was decided to eliminate the color line in its name, and the title of the Oakland Cycling Club was adopted. The organization now has a membership of fifty-one. The club has given one exhibition, but it was in December and was spoiled by the weather. It is now proposed to make the coming picnic and races the greatest event of the kind ever given by a colored organization on the Coast. Already promises have been received of entries and delegations from the interior cities, and the colored folk of San Francisco will turn out to a man and a wheel.
There will be a lot of independent records made at these races, for the Oakland Cycling Club will establish time for themselves. But the Oakland Cyclers are not satisfied with independent records, and they will go against the Coast records of other clubs. [A record had to be witnessed by a League of American Wheelmen official(s), and both the club and the rider had to be members of the L. A. W. as well. You can see that Idella Allen struggled with this issue of recognition, in the last post I published, WILL DRAW THE COLOR LINE. - Idella Allen - Athenian Cycling Club - The San Francisco Examiner, 15 Dec 1895. The "Coast" division of the L. A. W. comprised California and western states. In later posts, I'll show how the Oakland Cycling Club wanted to be part of the league, and how the league responded, both locally as a division, and nationally, to the concept of integration. - MF]
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J. C. MOORE, First Lieutenant. H. F. WILLIAMS, Captain. W. MORREY,
Second Lieutenant THE OAKLAND CYCLING CLUB OFFICIALS. Oakland has a cycling club composed entirely of members of the negro race. They are very successful and very strong, and are going to give a picnic at Shell Mound Park, July 16th, at which colored people from all over the State will gather. |
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