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When the 50,000 runners cross the finish line at the annual New York City Marathon on November 5, they'll be joined in spirit by Joe Yancey Jr. and Ted Corbitt, two men who shaped the epic road race into what it is today.
Remarkable Black athletes and coaches, Yancey and Corbitt helped break the color barrier and revolutionize long-distance running in the United States and across the globe. Just in time for the marathon, a new exhibit at the New-York Historical Society in Manhattan will honor their legacies.
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The exhibit, titled "Running for Civil Rights: The New York Pioneer Club, 1936–1976,” will open on Friday, October 27, and run through February 25, 2024. It explores how the New York City Marathon grew out of decades of activism for racial justice.
The history of two trailblazers in athletics
A veteran who served in the Harlem Hellfigers, Yancey (1910-1991) co-founded the New York Pioneer Club, a civic organization focused on education and sports in Harlem. After its founding in 1936, the Pioneers quickly became known as both an athletic powerhouse and an activist institution that protested against segregated events and facilities, sponsored racially integrated competitions, and challenged the economic and racial biases of the principal governing body of long-distance running, the Amateur Athletic Union.
A member of the Pioneer Club, Corbitt (1919-2007) ran in the Olympics and became the first president of the TCS New York City Marathon's founding organization, New York Road Runners. In 1952, he became the first African American to compete in the Olympic marathon. He earned the title of "the father of the ultramarathon in the United States."
After working for years to make running more inclusive, he organized the Road Runners Club-New York Association (now the New York Road Runners), which eventually founded the New York City Marathon in 1970. The organization held its first race in Central Park and six years later, at Corbitt's urging, they altered the course to weave through all five boroughs.
Powerful objects on view for the first time
Documents, objects, photographs and maps from their families' private collections will share this compelling story at the historical society.
Highlights of the exhibition include an original copy of the New York Pioneer Club creed; Ted Corbitt’s 1952 Olympics uniform; and Corbitt’s letter advocating to move the New York City Marathon to all five boroughs. Photographs show Corbitt running from London to Brighton as well as the 1947 walkout protesting segregated housing conditions at Amateur Athletic track and field competitions in the South. Many of the objects are on view in New York City for the first time.
A long legacy of long-distance running
"On Marathon Sunday, it's thrilling to see tens of thousands of runners from so many backgrounds, nationalities, and abilities stream through New York’s streets, cheered on by people in every borough," Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of New-York Historical, said in a press release. "We think it's just as exciting to share the story behind the world's most famous marathon and how it was inspired by the quest for inclusion. 'Running for Civil Rights' brings to light the legacy of Joe Yancey and Ted Corbitt, who played key roles in transforming long-distance running into the integrated and diverse sport we know today."
The famed marathon is a testament to the "ideal Yancey and Corbitt envisioned and how their work opened long-distance running to a more diverse community," exhibition co-curator's Marilyn Satin Kushner and Allison Robinson said in a statement.
As it now has for decades, the marathon will wind through the city's five boroughs on a 26.2-mile course that will bring New Yorkers out to the sidelines to cheer and hold up funny and heartfelt signs. The fun starts at 8am on Sunday, November 5.
"As runners from all over the world embark on Manhattan for the TCS New York City Marathon this year, we hope they can make the 'Running for Civil Rights' exhibition a stop on their itinerary so they can truly understand the meaning behind their miles, and how Ted and Joe Yancey’s contributions to the running world made it the diverse community it has come to be today," Rob Simmelkjaer, CEO of New York Road Runners said in a press release.