West End Heritage Night

The West End Museum proudly honors its native daughter Kittie Knox at West End Heritage Night, immediately following the “Cycling Legends of the West End” show reception. A seamstress and a woman of color, Kittie Knox (1874-1900) lived near the corner of Irving and Cambridge Streets in the West End of the 1890s. She became a member of the Riverside Cycling Club and the League of American Wheelmen (LAW). At a time when some chapters of LAW sought to ban African Americans, Knox attended a cycling meet in Asbury Park, NJ, confronting the organization’s racism and gaining national attention. A cycling pioneer of the late 19th century, Knox confronted racism head-on and promoted women’s independence, for example, by daring to don pantaloons while riding instead of the heavy, long skirts of her day. She bravely challenged race and gender roles in cycling, forever changing its future and advancing equality for African Americans and women alike.