Mabel Fairbanks: Black Ice Skating Queen
| Skatingly Yours | November 14, 1915 - September 29, 2001
Mabel Fairbanks was the first Black woman in history to build a legacy from her ice skating talents. She had her first taste of ice skating in New York City, around age 8, only because she persisted after getting turned away from her local ice rink. A famous coach, Maribel Vinson Owen, saw Mabel's desire to learn, and gave her free skating lessons. Mabel continued to indpendently hone her skills, and audiences became transfixed by her complex executions of spins, jumps and spirals never seen performed before.
Racism kept her from moving on to compete in the Olympics. While the ice shows she performed in brought her fame, she felt they also had a circus-feel. She was pivotal in the lives of the minority students she coached. Her protégés later broke records
as the first Black skaters to earn world champion awards: Atoy Wilson and
Tai Babilonia.
They're currently working together on a TV project to help bring her inspiring story to life.