Check out this article from USA TODAY:
Racism broke him, but Black cycling superstar Major Taylor is getting his moment.
Unable to race at home, Taylor toured Europe and broke world records. At 22 he was going from country to country, taking on the fastest racer there in $10,000 match races, and winning. Thousands of fans came to these velodromes to watch Taylor travel at speeds approaching 40 mph. He was, pressure and prejudice. He was still living in Massachusetts, attempting various comebacks before retiring in 1910 at age 32, and then this man who had won so much began to lose: his wife, his fortune, his health.
