A comparison of two pioneering Afro-American’s by P. S. Marshall
Nearly everybody in the world knows who Barack Obama is, but few have heard of Frank Hart. What is interesting about them is this – one of them hit the pinnacle of his career exactly 100 years after the other one died.
One was born in Hawaii; the other in Haiti. One has pursued a career in politics; the other in sport. One has become the future president of the United States of America; the other became the world record holder in ultra long-distance racing with a final score of 565 miles in six days!
And now the comparisons: Both are Afro-American’s. Both were considered to be “no-hopers”. Both came through the ranks to hit the dizzy heights in their chosen careers. Both are/were loved by those who stood and watched them perform. Both will go down in history as pioneering black American’s.
But, why you may ask, am I comparing men from different professions from different periods of history? The answer is simple - both overcame fantastic odds to triumph in fields dominated by men with a different skin colour than theirs.
Both would be ridiculed as they made that first lonely walk on to the path of glory, and, as they stood at the starting post staring into the abyss, some in the crowd shook their heads and quipped, “You’ll never make it….. black men never win!”
Obama’s life to his starting post in the race “race” is well documented and I suggest a visit to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama to discover how he got there.
Hart meanwhile, lived in a time when the odds of a man of “color” becoming rich and famous were extremely slim. Eventually emigrating to Boston, Massachusetts, Frank settled down to a predictable career earning a pittance as a grocery assistant. But Frank wasn’t like the rest. He wanted a better life for himself and his family and the only way to achieve that was by being brave and facing up the incredible challenge before him – an unenviable task when you are racing in a hostile atmosphere in the “Ignorance Stakes”.
With heads held high, the brave men would shut their ears to the criticisms of those who listened to and watched them – people who didn’t want them to succeed because of their colour. Both however, really wanted to make a difference and got on with the task in hand – in Obama’s case it was the challenge of changing the world in an incomprehensible way by becoming the first black man to win the American presidency! In Hart’s case it was two-fold – pride for his ethnicity and a determination to prove that black men could run further. “I’ll break those white fellow’s hearts, I will - you hear me!” he told reporters before the start of the 2nd O’Leary Belt race in 1880 - and that’s just what he did winning $21,000 for himself (about $460,000 in today’s money)!
How they cheered when Frank won his beautiful ornamental gold belt! How they cheered when Obama won that presidential nomination! Did both these black man really achieve mission impossible?
But it wasn’t just the blacks in the audience who screamed themselves silly. The whites did too! Hoarse with delight, the inspirational pair captured the hearts of the “people” who placed them on their shoulders and carried them on to further victory, and hopefully, further away from prejudice.
Hart was indeed a pioneer. Not only did he excel in his profession – he managed to break down so many barriers, and, in the process, stole the hearts of people from many different races. One hundred years after his death, his team-mate in the “race” race continues to carry the baton of hope beyond the winning line to seek out more victories in his quest to equalize the people of the world and to make it a better place to live in. Meanwhile, that world holds its breath……….and waits to see if he will indeed, succeed?
A short summary about Frank Hart’s professional career can be read here: |
