Major Taylor Association

Events and Activities

May 22, 2024 PBS documentary
"Major Taylor: Champion of the Race" Worcester Public Library
Worcester, Mass.

"Major Taylor: Champion of the Race," a documentary from WTIU Public Television (Indiana Public Media), was shown May 22, 2024, to a full house at the Worcester Public Library.

The free screening was followed by a panel discussion with three-time Olympic track and field medalist Edwin Moses; the film's producer/director, Todd Gould; Major Taylor's great-granddaughter Karen Brown Donovan; and historian Dart Adams.

The one-hour documentary explores the life and legacy of the fastest bicycle rider in the world at the turn of the 20th century, featuring interviews with noted historians, athletes, and social justice advocates. Passages from Major Taylor's autobiography are voiced by Grammy-winning jazz musician Branford Marsalis.

The film premiered on WTIU in Indiana on Feb. 26 and is being offered to PBS stations nationwide.

Additional in-person screenings

Feb. 29 - Indianapolis - followed by a panel discussion with producer Todd Gould, Butler University history professor Charlene Fletcher, Major Taylor Association president Lynne Tolman, and Major Taylor's great-granddaughter Karen Brown Donovan, moderated by Kisha Tandy of the Indiana State Museum

May 19 - Chicago - At Illinois Institute of Technology, hosted by the Bronzeville Trail Task Force, with special guests U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill.; Major Taylor descendant Karen Brown Donovan; and producer Todd Gould

June 15 - Indianapolis - during the Indiana State Museum's Juneteenth Celebration

View the trailer.