Tanya and I received an awesome gift in the mail yesterday. The gift was and autographed hardback copy of the "Bunion Derby The 1928 Footrace Across America". I can't wait to pour a big cup of coffee and sink into the pages and retrace the steps of these early ultra runners as they ran across America.Mr. Charles B. Kastner included a letter that said.
"Dear Dr. Marc and Tanya:
First off, I want to thank you for including some of my stories from Blackpast.org in your blog. There is a rich and deep history of black runners who literally risked their lives to compete in long distance races such as the Bunion Derby of 1928. I'm proud I had a part in bringing the stories of these brave men to the attention of the running community. Eddie Gardner, Toby Joseph Cotton, and Sammy Robinson, (and a host of others I've yet to discover) should be celebrated as not only pioneer ultra-runners that pushed back frontiers of what was then thought possible, but also as civil resisters in the same light as Gandhi or Martin Luther King.
I say this because these men knowingly risked their lives for something they believed in. The forces of Jim Crow were aligned against them. They easily could have been killed and nothing would have happened to the perpetrators as the derby followed Route 66 across Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri. But they didn't give up and gave hope to thousands of African Americans who watched them on their perilous journey across the Old South.
I've included a signed copy of my book for you. Thanks again for including my stories on your blog.
Best wishes,
Charles Kastner"
Tanya and I thought this was a thoughtful and special gift from Mr. Kastner, and we wanted to share the good news.
Today is also Juneteeth which signifies the day in 1865 the slaves of Texas were freed; 2 1/2 years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation abolishing slavery. Imagine that!
If you don't know your past, you don't know your future.
Mr. Kastner thank you for sharing the entire story of the Bunion Derby.
