Black History Month: 5 Inspirational Individuals
POSTED: 20/10/2021
October marks Black History Month (BHM), a fantastic celebration growing annually across the globe. BHM not only gives recognition to those in history that did not receive full credit for their accomplishments or achievements, BHM also acknowledges current role models making a huge impact in our society today. In honour of BHM, we wanted to share with you some of the inspirational black motorcyclists you should know about, who were pioneers in the motorcycle industry in some respect due to their brilliant achievements.
William B. “Wild Bill” Johnson
Wild Bill was born in the 1890s in Maryland and was best known within his hometown as the guy who had a way with machines. Johnson was the first African American to join the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and to be granted a licence to race. Over the years of racing, he became well known in the industry for securing many victories in hill climb racing.
Wild Bill was also the first African American owner of a Harley-Davidson® dealership. Through converting an old blacksmith workshop, he formed ‘Johnson’s Harley-Davidson®’, a dealership that drew customers far and wide for over 60 years. That little blacksmith shop was immensely popular to riders internationally until his 80s when he passed away in 1985.
William B Johnson - Image 1*
William B Johnson - Image 2*
Sugar Bear
If you’ve ever seen a chopper with extended handlebars which look longer than physically possible, you have Sugar Bear to thank for that. In the early 1970s, Bear began pushing the boundaries of what society had seen before on motorcycles. Experimenting with extended springer front ends on choppers he was building, he ultimately engineered them with manoeuvrability and turning circles much better than anyone else’s.
Dominantly used for street motorcycles rather than show motorcycles, the front solid springer made the front more extended than most choppers - which is why it stood out among the market. Instead of releasing them on mass production, Sugar Bear relied on word of mouth, custom to every motorcycle.
Sugar Bear Springer - Image 1*
Sugar Bear Springer - Image 2*
Bessie Stringfield
Born in Jamaica and raised in Boston USA, Bessie Stringfield started riding as a teenager in the 1930s, and soon became the first woman to ride solo across the United States. In those times, the equality rights we know today were almost non-existent. There was a clear understanding of what was expected from those who were male and those who were female. Furthermore, those who were of white ethnicities and those who were from black ethnicities.
Bessie Stringfield dismissed the notion that “nice girls didn’t go around riding motorcycles” and opened the throttle anyway. Working as a stunt rider in carnivals, and eventually a messenger for the army, Stringfield crossed the country another 8 times. Riding all her life, on a list of more than two dozen Harley® bikes, she continued to ride into her 80s when she passed away in 1993.
Bessie Stringheart - Image 1*
Bessie Stringheart - Image 2*
Ben Hardy
The general public taking almost 40 years to discover the true mastermind behind the bikes in the film Easy Rider (1969), Ben Hardy for quite some time did not get the credit he deserved. Known throughout Los Angeles motorcycle clubs and communities he had a history in bike design and custom motorcycle innovation. He was responsible for what some consider the most famous motorcycle in the world, the Captain America bike. Choppers were already immensely popular in the late 60s when the movie rolled out the Captain America bike introduced choppers to the general public across the globe and refined the term.
Hardy ran a small shop out of Los Angeles and had been engineering, building and customising bikes for years when Cliff Vaughs (Filmmaker) came to him with his vision for cinematic motorcycles. Together they chopped up a few ex-police motorcycles and in just a few weeks made a pair of world-famous bikes, which remain iconic today.
Ben Hardy - Image 1*
Ben Hardy - Image 2*
Tommy “Tombo” Bolton
Tommy Bolton was a top-level drag racer, and bike builder, the first African American to go over 200mph in the quater mile on a bike in 1990. Growing up in Los Angeles he knew all the big names of his time Vance Hines, Russel Collins, he eventually ended up racing against them all by the age of 19. During his career, he stacked up 25 major titles before he stopped to concentrate on tuning the bikes and building custom rides.
Bolton is even now taking on new challenges in his bike development. Amongst COVID lockdown winter of 2020-21, he worked closely with his team to build his own turbo Suzuki Hayabusa, while at the same time building two new turbo Hayabusa wheelie bar bikes for the Lottie Brothers.
Tommy Bolton - Image 1*
Tommy Bolton - Image 2*
Image Sources:
William B. Johnson - Image 1*: https://bit.ly/3FShEPw
William B. Johnson - Image 2*: https://bit.ly/3iZqVeB
Sugar Bear Springer - Image 1*: https://bit.ly/3oXOEQ5
Sugar Bear Springer - Image 2*: https://bit.ly/3lDu1qE
Bessie Stringfield - Image 1*: https://bit.ly/3iWNQYb
Bessie Stringfield - Image 2*: https://bit.ly/3p3yo0h
Ben Hardy - Image 1*: https://bit.ly/3awo5cz
Ben Hardy - Image 2*: https://bit.ly/3iVzmre
Tommy Bolton - Image 1*: https://bit.ly/3az9FZ2
Tommy Bolton - Image 2*: https://bit.ly/3j0i8cn
Information Sources:
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