Unbridled Elegance: Examining African American Representation through the Kentucky Derby, 1875-1902

Abstract

This thesis explores the complex and interwoven histories of African American representation in photography and the Kentucky Derby. This is propelled by different scholars working in African American studies, literature, political philosophy, art history, and photography. The thesis begins with a chapter that deconstructs the history of how slavery informed the creation of American horse racing and an in-depth look into the whitewashing of the social event of the Kentucky Derby. The chapter ends with an engagement with representations of early African American turfmen through painter Edward Troye in hopes of showing how stereotypical representations of African American turfmen emerged. The second chapter explores the further creation of the African American turfman stereotype and offers a way to deconstruct that stereotype through avenues for further research. The chapter begins with a section on how color line politics has been implemented by media in sports at the turn of the twentieth century while also exploring the creation of black sports celebrities. The chapter examines the conception of the African American turfman stereotype through different institutional exhibitions’ construction of an African American turfmen counterarchive. Finally, this thesis seeks to move past the counterarchive by offering other methods of study that are more interdisciplinary. These new modes of research connect the past and the present to extend beyond traditional institutional boundaries. In conclusion, this thesis determines that it is important to recognize past achievements of the African American community in the history of the Kentucky Derby and to analyze and meticulously scrutinize the systematic disappearance of African American turfmen stories. Through this thesis, the beginnings of this endeavor exist and hope for the future.