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Joi Harris

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Joi Harris
Born
Sequana Joi Harris

(1976-12-11)December 11, 1976
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedAugust 14, 2017(2017-08-14) (aged 40)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Cause of deathMotorcycle accident
Occupations
  • Motorcycle road racer
  • Motorcycle stuntwoman
Years active
  • 2014–2017 (racer)
  • 2017 (stuntwoman)

Sequana Joi Harris[1] (December 11, 1976 – August 14, 2017)[2][3] was an American motorcycle road racer and stuntwoman.[4] She made history as the first African American woman to be licensed as a motorcycle road racer, racing professionally since 2014, after taking up motorcycling in 2009.[5] She died while performing a motorcycle stunt, doubling for the character "Domino" on the set of Deadpool 2,[6] Harris's bike crashed near the Rogers Tower during filming.[7]

Racing career

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Harris promoted road racing to both women and the African American community.[5] She learned to ride a motorcycle in 2009[5] and began racing in 2012.[8] By 2013 she earned her racing license[6] and made history in 2014 as the first African American woman to race professionally in motorcycle road racing.[5] That same year, she established her own racing team, Threader Racing, competing under the number #24.[9][10]

In 2017, she raced in the NJMP and SPR classes on the CCS circuit of ASRA[11][12] where she achieved a victory during the 2017 circuit.[13][14][15][16]

Death

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Harris was on her first stunt shoot for Deadpool 2, in 2017.[7] On August 14, 2017, during filming, Harris was riding without a helmet in downtown Vancouver when she lost control of her bike, hit a curb, and was thrown into the Rogers Tower. She had been doubling for actress Zazie Beetz, who portrayed Domino in Deadpool 2.[4][7][6][8][17] Harris died at the scene.[7][2]

Her death marked the second fatality in two months among stunt performers in North America, following the July death of stuntman John Bernecker on the set of The Walking Dead TV series.[17] Deadpool 2 was dedicated to Harris.[18]

References

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  1. ^ Couch, Aaron (May 17, 2018). "'Deadpool 2' Dedicated to Late Stuntwoman S.J. Harris". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 19, 2018. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Scott Brown (16 August 2017). "Ryan Reynolds leads moment of silence for 'Deadpool 2' stuntwoman; production resumes". Toronto Sun.
  3. ^ Scott Brown; Cheryl Chen; Lora Grindlay (15 August 2017). "Ryan Reynolds 'heartbroken' at death of stunt woman while filming Deadpool 2 in Vancouver". Vancouver Sun.
  4. ^ a b Mike Miller (14 August 2017). "Stuntwoman Killed on Deadpool 2 Motorcycle Crash Identified as Joi 'SJ' Harris, First African-American Female Road Racer". People Magazine.
  5. ^ a b c d "Leading the Pack". Black Girls Ride Magazine. January 2015. pp. 18–21.
  6. ^ a b c Christie D'Zurilla (15 August 2017). "'Deadpool 2' stuntwoman Joi 'SJ' Harris was pioneering black motorcycle racer". Los Angeles Times.
  7. ^ a b c d Yohana Desta (15 August 2017). "Joi "SJ" Harris, Pioneering Motorcycle Racer, Dies After Deadpool 2 Accident". Vanity Fair.
  8. ^ a b "Deadpool 2 stuntwoman SJ Harris mourned". BBC News. 15 August 2017.
  9. ^ "Threader Racing 24". Threader Racing. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  10. ^ Lindsay Kimble (15 August 2017). "All About SJ Harris, Stuntwoman and Motorcycle Racer Killed On Deadpool 2 Set: 'She Was a Real-Life Superhero'". People Magazine.
  11. ^ "2017 CCS SPR class - Summit Point: Formula 40 Amateur" (PDF). ASRA-CCS. 2017.
  12. ^ "2017 CCS NJMP class - NJMP: Formula 40 Amateur" (PDF). ASRA-CCS. 2017.
  13. ^ "Photographic image" (JPG). Scontent.fymy1-1.fna.fbcdn.net. Retrieved 2017-08-18.
  14. ^ "Photographic image" (JPG). Scontent.fymy1-1.fna.fbcdn.net. Retrieved 2017-08-18.[permanent dead link]
  15. ^ "SJ Harris - Threader24 Racing". Facebook.com. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  16. ^ Najja Parker (17 August 2017). "Stunt woman killed on 'Deadpool 2' set was first black woman road racer". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  17. ^ a b Dominic Patten; David Robb. Anita Busch (14 August 2017). "'Deadpool 2' Stunt Crash Victim ID'd As First African-American Female Pro Road Racer; Director & Fox "Deeply Saddened" – Update". Deadline Hollywood.
  18. ^ Little, Simon (May 18, 2018). "'Deadpool 2' dedicated to stuntwoman who died on set in Vancouver". Global News. Globalnews.ca. Retrieved May 22, 2018.

Further reading

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