CLASSICE AMERICAN PEOPLE Willy T Ribbs

When faced with adversity, some folk just sink, while others rise to the challenge and succeed. William Theodore Ribbs, an African-American born into a comfortably well-off family in San Jose, California, in 1955, followed his boyhood dreams of becoming a top racing driver and, in spite of being subjected to horrible racial discrimination, death threats, sabotage and lack of corporate support, he made it and became the first black man to drive a Formula One car and the first black man to race in the Indianapolis 500.

At the start of his racing career in 1977, he came to England to race and was crowned Dunlop ‘Star of Tomorrow’ Formula Ford 1600 Champion. Back in America, he raced in Formula Atlantic single-seaters, was highly successful in Trans-Am and IMSA GTO and raced Indy cars. He also ran the gauntlet in NASCAR. He was the subject of the highly acclaimed Netflix film Uppity, which was released in February 2020. This was a no-holds-barred account of his life in the predominantly white man’s world of motorsport. Just a few months later, in May, George Floyd was killed by police, which was filmed. This appalling incident sent shock waves around the world and again brought prominence to the Black Lives Matter movement which was founded in 2013 following the controversial killing of black teenager, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

Willy’s story and Uppity, directed by Adam Carolla and Nate Adams, founders of award-winning production company Chassy Media, were thrust into the spotlight. Here, Willy, who now lives in Texas, shares some of his views and experiences. First, I