Kittie Knox
Katherine Towle Knox was a bicycle racer and the first African American to be accepted into the League of American Wheelmen.
Bicycling career
Knox joined LAW in 1893 at a time when few women were members. The organization changed their constitution to only allow white members in 1894. In 1895 the organization clarified that constitutional changes were not retroactive, and Knox's membership in the group was no longer questioned. Knox persisted in racing despite sometimes being denied access to races as well as service by restaurants and hotels while traveling. She was a strong rider, participating in and completing several century rides. Knox was known both for her cycling ability, taking first place in a LAW meeting Waltham, Massachusetts, as well as her fashionable cycling outfits. During this time, women were expected to wear long skirts when engaging in physical activity. However, Kittie Knox defied gender norms by wearing baggy trousers when cycling. Unlike her male counterparts, much attention was given to her appearance and wardrobe. The media often paid more attention to her looks than to her abilities as a cyclist.Personal life
Knox was born to Katherine Towle, a white woman from East Parsonfield, Maine, who was a millworker, and John Knox, a black man from Philadelphia who worked as a tailor. Kittie had one older brother, Ernest Knox, who worked as a steamfitter. Kittie was born in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts, and moved to Boston with her family in the 1880s after her father died. At the time, the Boston West End was an impoverished area and had limited opportunities for people of color. Knox found work as a seamstress, which allowed her to express her creativity and design her own cycling costumes.Knox died from kidney disease in 1900 at the age of 26 and was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery in a public lot. A headstone was erected for her by family members on September 29, 2013.
Legacy
In 2019, the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts, named the Kittie Knox Bike Path after her. The path connects Broadway and Binney Street in Cambridge.In 2022, MassBike and partners began hosting an annual bike ride in honor of Kittie Knox.