My Daily Journal: My Bicycle and African-American Glory

This wasn't the most exciting day. I spent it mostly alone. Just my Daily Journal...

And, yet, I spent the day reminiscing. I took a bicycle ride through Bloomington. I peddled softly. I measured every rotation of the pedals.

I coasted past the wooden houses on 6th Street. The Near West Side is the moniker for the area. A green wooden sign with golden trim and lettering proclaims the area as; "Living in Diversity Since the 1880's."

That's refreshing since I'm a mutt of an American. Mostly Latino with Native American ancestry. Then there's the German side of me. My only friend here in Bloomington has frequently reminded me about my German heritage now that my hair is growing out. I tend to keep it short... usually. But since the coronavirus lockdown, I haven't been able to get a haircut.

I apparently have German curly hair. I'm ready to chop it off. My hair salon appointment is set for June 10th. I can't wait.

But... so much for that. What did I learn today? Well... I thought about my bicycle. A $500 Schwinn. Incidentally, the Schwinn has a German legacy. Go figure. Ignaz Schwinn was born in Baden, Germany. He later immigrated to the United States in 1891 to do what we all are able to do here: pursue dreams.

Dreams... Yes. America is the place for dreams. This German immigrant, by the way, made a bicycle here in this United States that … wait for it... allowed an African-American to shine in 1896. Yes. way back in the 1800s.

Major Taylor became the first world champion African-American professional cyclist riding a Schwinn bicycle. A few years after 1896, Taylor was dubbed Mile-a-Minute Murphy and the first man - White, Black, Red, Yellow, Green, Purple or whatever - to go 60 mph by bicycle.

Sigh... I wish I could have talked to Major Taylor. I wonder what he might have said about current events.

So... I'm riding along on my German-named bicycle today. I pass the town square. Protestors are still angry. Signs say "Black Lives Matter."

Of course they do. All human being's lives matter. I couldn't help wondering. Ignaz Schwinn was a small business owner when he started. He made a product... that eventually gave a man of color, Major Taylor, an opportunity to shine. Schwinn's life mattered. Taylor's life mattered.

I look at my bicycle now very differently. Yes. It is a Schwinn. German origin. But... now it is an American bike. It has a history. That history includes giving an African-American an unrivaled glory way back in 1896. Go figure. Maybe America isn't so bad, after all.