The weekend before the Little 500, Bill Armstrong Stadium is quiet. However, the race is already visible in pieces across campus. Cyclists are out, social media posts are up and students are finalizing plans.

For now, the stadium waits for the fans and riders that will soon turn it into one of the most crowded and visible spaces on campus for the race’s 75th anniversary.

But missing from that space will be any Black teams and, if the past is any indication, few Black people will be watching.

According to IU Student Foundation archives, the first all-Black team, Alpha Phi Alpha, competed in the inaugural race in 1951. Seventeen years later, in 1968, more than 60 activists staged a three-day, nonviolent sit-in during Little 500 weekend to protest racial discrimination in Greek life. The demonstration led nearly every fraternity to remove racial discrimination clauses from their national charters. One fraternity refused and was barred from competing.

There hasn’t been an all-black team in the Little 500 race since Team Major Taylor in 2009.

Fifty-eight years after “The World’s Greatest College Weekend” was used as a civil rights platform, some Black students say they don’t feel welcome.

“It definitely makes me feel sad when I hear those types of things, because I don't think it's unfounded,” said Leila Faraday, an IU senior who rides for Teter and serves on the External Affairs Committee for the IU Student Foundation Riders Council.

Kameran Cook, president of the National Panhellenic Council at IU which heads historically African American fraternities and sororities, pointed to online responses to crowds on Kirkwood Avenue during Little 500 weekend in 2025 as an example.

Photos of groups of Black students circulated on social media, followed by racist comments.

“A lot of people went to Kirkwood last year, and it became a really big thing that Kirkwood looked like Atlanta, or Bloomington was ghetto, or just a lot of derogatory terms that were related to us,” Cook said.

In one Reddit post at the time, a user wrote, “Incredibly disappointed by the blatant racism I’ve seen regarding the amount of black people who came down to celebrate during little 500. Kirkwood did not “turn into Atlanta” just because black people were outside.”

Cook said the comments made people feel unwelcome to celebrate Little 500 weekend.

“It's a lot, and it's hard to deal with,” he said. “It's hard to listen to sometimes.”

He said racism has led many Black organizations to feel the need to self-segregate during the weekend.

“We go where we're accepted,” Cook said. “And if we don't feel okay or accepted in an environment, we won't put ourselves in that environment.”

Emily Carrico, Director of IUSF, said some of the most unwelcoming experiences happen outside the organization’s control.

“It could be something in the broader community or an online experience,” Carrico said. “It's really difficult when you know there are things you can't control.”

Carrico said IUSF needs to focus on what can be changed by the organization.

“What are the things that are within our control that we can do today to try and make sure everyone feels they are welcome?” she said.

Faraday said cycling itself presents barriers to wider participation in Little 500.

“Cycling is such a traditionally exclusive sport,” Faraday said. “It's very male, it's very white, it's expensive.”

She said the race is often associated with Greek life, though teams also come from residence halls, cultural houses and independent groups built around what she calls a shared “why.”

“Anybody can do it,” she said.

However, even Faraday recognized access isn’t always that simple.

Faraday said the Riders Council has prioritized improving accessibility through outreach efforts aimed at bringing in and sustaining new teams.

“Not all teams have been in the race since the very first race,” Faraday said. “Sometimes they go away and come back.”

The women’s race was not introduced until 1988. The first all-Black women’s team, Team Marshall, formed in 2005.

In conversations with members of Team Marshall, Faraday said she learned that the riders’ reason for racing was representation.

“Their main goal wasn't winning,” she said. “It was to see people who looked like them in the stands.”

She said that perspective shapes how she thinks about inclusion in the sport.

“I would love to see more diversity in the field,” she said. “Reconnecting with those alumni, that felt to me like a really good step toward either bringing something like that back or just showing like that we steward those relationships and that ‘why’ and hopefully setting the stage for that to happen again and to be not just a one year thing, but like a truly sustainable thing.”

Even with organizers working to make the race more inclusive, Faraday said the culture surrounding Little 500 weekend can undermine those efforts.

Faraday said she has seen negative and unwelcoming comments on social media. While she doesn’t believe those comments deserve amplification, she said they do need to be acknowledged.

“I don't get the fun in making something exclusive,” she said. “That's not a very fun tradition to me.”

Faraday said the Riders Council is trying to reshape the culture of Little 500 in ways that go beyond the race itself.

This year, the council hosted its first Athletes and Activism event in partnership with the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center. Nilaja Montgomery, a founding member of Team Marshall, spoke at the event to discuss her experiences and the barriers she faced.

Faraday said sharing those stories is key to building a more inclusive future for the race.

“The history cannot be ignored,” she said. “I think there can be a lot of room for really poor interpretations of what the weekend is about. I hope that that stops, so that all people can feel welcome and feel like this is their tradition too.”

Carrico agreed that change will take time.

“Change doesn't happen overnight,” Carrico said. “Our students are very cognizant of that, and so a lot of them come into their leadership roles, with goals of, ‘how do we make everyone who walks in the doors here wants to get on that track feel like they have a sense of belonging and welcoming?’”

Faraday said creating a truly inclusive environment requires more than simply inviting people in.

“I would love for everyone to be a part of it,” she said. “But I acknowledge that it's not as simple as just saying, ‘come on by.’”