As the numbing wind whipped across the slopes of Otsego Resort in Gaylord, Wadette Bradford,, of Birmingham and her daughter Kensington Moorehead made it just in time to board a small bus for the bumpy shuttle ride, winding along a snow-covered trail, back to the top for their afternoon ski lesson.
For people of color, Bradford said, “Nontraditional sports like skiing can be lonely. You have people who have the resources to ski, but they’re there, and they’re alone. It’s an isolated feeling.”
Bradford, originally from Tuskegee, Alabama, had gone on ski trips with groups back home and in Atlanta before being recruited to work for Stellantis in Michigan. But she never became fully involved in the winter sport with her daughter until learning about the oldest and largest Black ski club in the world: the Detroit-based Jim Dandy Ski Club.
The club, named after R&B singer LaVern Baker’s 1956 hit “Jim Dandy to the Rescue,” was founded in 1958 by Frank Blount, William Morgan and Reginald Wilson. It began with just over 20 members. Since then, thousands have come through the first African American ski club in the U.S. Members are from all walks of life — teachers, political leaders, doctors, engineers, lawyers, factory workers.
At the top of the hill, past president Miles Maxey, 70, of Ann Arbor, hops onto his snowboard during an outing with a few members who made the trek Up North as his wife, 63-year-old Brenda Kitchen, clicks her boots into her skis. For Maxey, whose father introduced him to the sport as a child in Highland Park, the memory of skiing for Black people wasn’t as welcoming in the 1960s. “I remember going skiing in grade school at Mount Holly, and that was the first time I was ever called the N-word,” Maxey said. But that didn’t stop him. At 18, he purchased his own ski equipment, and joined the Jim Dandy club in his 30s.
The club created a family for him in more ways than one. His sister, who lives in Texas, met her husband at a Jim Dandy event. And it’s where Maxey met his wife — she was a part of another group in Washington D.C. He taught his own children to ski, and his son met his own wife in the ski club.
“There’s probably not a week that goes by where I’m not in connection with someone that I met (through the group) or is related to the group,” Maxey said. “I could never have had this many good friends, had it not been for the group.”
Now reaching its 67th year, and having expanded beyond skiing to adding other sports, outings and travel, the club is working to adapt and bring in younger members to bridge the age and social gaps. “Everybody’s welcome. There are no color lines in our club. We have members of all races,” current president Giselle Jackson, 63, of Southfield, said. “Let’s face it, we’re older and we’re tired. My goal now is to make sure this club doesn’t die. I want to make sure that Jim Dandy Ski Club’s name never gets tarnished.”
Events like the annual BlackOut — an all day local ski summit held at Mount Brighton Ski Resort, in its 14th year — bring in first-timers in their 30s and 40s. The club’s Epic For Everyone program focuses on giving children from underrepresented communities a chance to try snow sports. It’s a priority for the club, and is funded by a grant from Vail Resorts. Jackson also hopes to produce the next person of color to represent the Jim Dandy Club and the National Brotherhood of Snowsports in the Olympics. “We’ve got several on the radar right now that are in programs for the Olympics. I’m hoping that the idea of Black people skiing or racing, or any kind of winter sport becomes normal,” Jackson said.
A week later, at Mount Brighton Ski Resort, children from metro Detroit had smiles on their faces as they exited a school bus, some with parents in tow, before checking out their snowboards and skis to take group lessons with their peers as part of the Epic For Everyone program. “I’m trying this out as a new skill for me, and honestly I love this. I might make it one of my hobbies,” said Sterling Dacres, 17, of Detroit, adjusting his helmet and goggles.
“I’m just so elated to see all those little faces out there,” said the club’s past president Janice Jackson, of Commerce Township. “Anytime I can encourage somebody else to do it, I try to do that. I met lots of people from all different walks of life just by being out here on the snow, and I enjoyed sharing what I love with them.”