Lady Bicyclists

On Easter weekend in 1928 five black women took off on an ambitious bike ride from New York City to Washington, D.C. They were Marylou Jackson, Velma Jackson, Ethyl Miller, Leolya Nelson and Constance White. They weren’t out to make a political point. They were motivated simply by their “love for the great outdoors,” according to an account decades later by the League of American Bicyclists.

Five native New Yorkers embarked on a group ride from New York City to Washington, D.C. during Easter weekend in 1928. These five women were Marylou Jackson, Velma Jackson, Ethyl Miller, Leolya Nelson and Constance White.

They rode 250 miles in three days. On the first day of their ride, they biked 110 miles to Philadelphia. The second day, they biked 40 miles to Wilmington, Delaware. The third and final day, they biked more than 100 miles, arriving in Washington, D.C. Once there they did some sightseeing around the National Mall and Howard University. And then a few blocks west to the Phillis Wheatley YWCA where they spent the night. They also took time to have the above photograph taken. The next day they hopped a train, with their bikes in tow, for New York.

Nine years after women were granted the right to vote in the United States, these five cyclists took to the bike to dispel the dehumanizing notion that women were incapable of great feats of athleticism. Cycling in general was an activity seen as something done by young white males. While these five women were not the first to embark on such a journey, they put to the forefront that neither race nor gender would be an inhibitor to their drive and capacity to be full in their bodies. These five cyclists after completing their journey laid out a challenge to others, especially women, to not only make the journey but to beat their time.

Sources: Cycling for Change by Jamilah King, colorlines.com; Scurlock/Smithsonian Institute; DC to NYC Bike Tour Honors 1928 Ride by Liz (bikeleague.org)