CHICAGO — The Jesse White Tumblers, formed 67 years ago by former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White to keep Chicago youth away from gangs and drugs, brought their flips, somersaults and other gravity-defying tricks to NBC’s popular reality competition show “America’s Got Talent” in California.
After their performance, which premiered Tuesday night, the group now known as the Jesse White Tumbling Team received a standing ovation and four “yes” votes from the panel of celebrity judges — Howie Mandel, Mel B, Simon Cowell and Sofía Vergara — to advance to the next round of competition as the show continues its 21st season.
“You’re the epitome of what ‘AGT’ is all about, thank you for being here,” Mandel told the team after their performance.
“I thought it was sensational,” said judge Simon Cowell, who eventually went up to shake White’s hand onstage. “You’re following an act with lasers and pyrotechnics, and this was all about you as a group, as individuals, being great, putting the hours in … I mean it really, really paid off.”
Watch the Tumblers an “America’s Got Talent” here:
The Jesse White Tumblers have been flipping and flying around Chicago since 1959. That’s when White, who was working as a elementary school teacher, was asked to organize a gymnastics show at the Rockwell Gardens housing project in East Garfield Park.
The small gymnastics show born out of a Chicago Housing Authority complex and coached by White, a naturally gifted tumbler himself, has provided tens of thousands of the city’s youth with structure, community and opportunities.
The rotating coed group of young tumblers is known for performing at parades and events across the Chicago area. They have also traveled internationally to places like Hong Kong, Tokyo and Belize to perform — with their latest plane ride to Pasadena, California to try their shot at one of the country’s most popular talent competition shows.
“’America’s Got Talent’ is a highlight of all we’ve been able to accomplish with this program,” White, now 92, told Block Club. The youngest tumbler performing with the team on the show was just 8 years old.
The team led by White — the longest-serving Illinois Secretary of State and the first Black man to hold the position — announced their “America’s Got Talent” appearance on Instagram last week.
Even though the Jesse White Tumblers have been featured in many commercials, TV shows and movies over the years, including the Chicago classic “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” White said “America’s Got Talent” is “high table.”
For many of the tumblers on this trip, it was their first time on an airplane, staying in a hotel or visiting California, White said.
The team took the stage at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium for the episode that aired Tuesday night. The group of 20 tumblers, with the youngest being 8 years old, flipped across the large stage in their iconic red uniforms, receiving a standing ovation from all four celebrity judges.
“This has been the most exciting thing I’ve seen all day,” actress and judge Sofía Vergara told the group after their performance. “You guys literally fly. You know how to fly.”
“We want to show people all over the world how high we can get without roots, weeds or spices,” White told Block Club — the team’s signature catchphrase. The kids who participate in the Jesse White Tumbling Team program make a strict vow against drugs, alcohol and skipping school, White said.
The kids on the Jesse White Tumbling Team aren’t just stellar athletes, they’re also students. To be a part of the team, they must maintain a C average. The program offers homework help, tutoring and other academic resources.
“We want to put these young people out in the world to become a positive force,” White said.
The Jesse White Tumblers perform at the 2024 Block Club Block Party at the McCormick YMCA. Credit: Mike Rivera/ Block Club Chicago
Team tryouts are offered multiple times a year. Boys and girls ages 6 through 16 who have basic tumbling skills can be invited to join the Jesse White Tumbling Team. Practices are held at Tuley Park, 501 E. 90th Place, in Chatham and at the Jesse White Community Center, 412 W. Chicago Ave., on the Near North Side.
The next tryouts are Sept 12.
“It’s more than just a gymnastics program,” White said. “It teaches [kids] to love their fellow man and woman. It’s a program for helping people, to prepare them for life.”
The 21st season of “America’s Got Talent” continues next week with more auditions. Eventually the show will switch from the audition rounds to the quarterfinals, where the Jesse White Tumbling Team and other acts are expected to compete against each other to advance in the competition. The series airs 7 p.m. Tuesdays on NBC, and is available for streaming the next day on Peacock.
