A Most Beautiful Thing: The True Story of America's First All-Black High School Rowing Team

As their summer break nears, Coach Jessica tells the team that they have two months to prepare to race in the Chicago Sprints at the Lincoln Park Lagoon, one of the biggest races in the Midwest. She also tells them that a reporter for the Chicago Tribune will be coming to interview some of them the next week. After the Tribune publishes its article, the team gets lots of praise and attention at school, but it still lacks the support that Manley’s traditional sports receive. The team continues to train and practice in preparation for the Chicago Sprints, and as the race day nears, Cooper notes that they “feel strong and can move the boat well, but [their] timing and balance are usually off” (111). At their final practice before the race, Coach Jessica gives the team a pep talk and their race day instructions and tells them that this will be their only race of the season, but they have two scheduled for the fall, in St. Louis and Iowa.

On race day at the Lincoln Park Lagoon, they immediately notice that no one from the school or their families has shown up to support them. They also notice that there are no people of color among the hundreds who are there to watch the races and that all the other teams there to compete are decked out in matching uniforms and have physiques that are completely different from theirs. The looks of interest they are getting from the crowd and other teams get even more curious when Pheodus puts on his life jacket just before the official starts the race. From the start, their initial race turns into a disaster as they immediately are out of sync and twice smack into the lagoon wall. This leads to a spectacle of open bickering among them and Malcolm accusing Coach O’Gorman of purposely putting the two strongest rowers on the same side. Cooper explains that he “can feel the negative energy seething” (118).

Following their disastrous debut race, the team leaves the dock in separate directions to cool off. Cooper heads into the locker room by himself, but he is soon joined by Eugene, the lagoon dockmaster, who was likely the only other African American there that day. Eugene provides him with a unique take on what he saw in their race, telling him that no one will remember them smacking into the wall, but people are going to remember them because they made history. Following the races, an erg competition is scheduled in which two rowers from each school are selected to compete against one another. Cooper and Malcolm are selected for Manley, and both win, defeating opponents from the team that had just defeated them so badly in the water. Cooper writes, “[N]ow we feel better about ourselves than we did forty minutes ago” (122).

Following race day, Alpart takes Cooper, Preston, Alvin, and Malcolm out to eat at a nice restaurant. The restaurant they choose, however, turns them away because of how they are dressed. Cooper explains that Alpart is “visibly upset” by this (123), but they leave anyway. He argues that Alpart “is not like any other white guy [he has] ever met. He does what he wants and has a little ghetto in him; he never backs down from anything” (124). The group eventually finds another restaurant and enjoys a nice meal, discussing their thoughts about losing so badly. Cooper points out that he is grateful for Alpart starting the rowing program, saying that “[h]e is a special kind of human being” (126).