Earlier this week I was looking through something to watch and I stumbled on the documentary "Uppity". Uppity tells the story of Willy T. Ribbs, a very talented African American race car driver in the 1970's and 1980's who faced a path to glory that was a million times more difficult than white drivers, because of the color of his skin. In the early days, he won Formula Ford in England (where a lot of pro racers get their start) and he blew the competition out of the water. However, he was one of the few who never got a single call for a sponsorship. Although he did not face much (if any) racism in England at the hands of the drivers and fans, companies were not on board with sponsoring an African American driver. Out of money, he returned to the USA, where he got into Trans Am racing. Willy absolutely dominated the Trans Am series, and became one of the best drivers the Trans Am series has ever seen to this day. However, similar to his earlier ventures, he could not find a big name sponsor. He got called to race in Nascar, but after receiving death threats, he had to pull out of the race, where the media then slammed him for "not being good enough". He also test drove a formula one car and shattered the goal time required to qualify, but the Italian car owners did not want to sponsor an African American man as a driver.
Ever since he was a kid, his ultimate goal was to race in the Indy 500, and no amount of racism was going to keep him from that goal. His mindset through it all was "If you hate me now, i'm going to give you even more reasons to hate me" which continued to feed his appetite for winning, and dominating. After years and years of struggling to make it, he got a call from Bill Cosby, who wanted to give Willy a chance to race in the Indy 500. He gave $350,000 towards the cause, and with that money, (a fraction of the millions needed to build a car and compete in the Indy 500) he flew in. After blowing several engines because they could not afford brand new ones, and using a re-built chassis, he became the first African American to qualify for the Indy 500 and race in the Indy 500. Although he never won, he accomplished his goal in the face of everyone who did not want to see him succeed because the color of his skin, and paved the way for current drivers of color like Bubba Walace to be successful.
This is a really inspiring story. I have not heard of him, or seen the movie. It must have been so frustrating to be so talented and still not become successful only because of a physical trait. I try very hard to understand what people of other races face every day, what they have to overcome just because of the skin they were born into. He showed incredible determination and that a positive mindset can keep you going.
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