The Black Woman Who Biked Across the US Alone During the 1930s Jim Crow Era was named #BessieStringfield and she was a #BlackCatholic. #TheMotorcycleQueenofMiami vice.com/en/article/qvx…
Born in 1911, Stringfield got her first motorcycle, a 1928 Indian Scout, while she was still in her teens and taught herself how to ride it. vice.com/en/article/qvx…
At the age of 19, young Stringfield flipped a penny onto a map of the US then ventured out on her bike alone. Interstate highways didn’t yet exist at the time, but the rough, unpaved roads didn’t deter her. bit.ly/36McNji
In 1930, she became the 1st Black woman to ride a motorcycle in every one of the connected 48 states—a solo cross-country ride she undertook 8xs times during her lifetime. Eventually, she went abroad to Haiti, Brazil, parts of Europe. bit.ly/36McNji
“When I get on the motorcycle I put the Man Upstairs on the front.” Stringfield told Ferrar, referring to God. “I’m very happy on two wheels.”bit.ly/36McNji
In the 1930s and 40s, because of racial prejudice and Jim Crow laws, Stringfield wasn’t welcomed in most motels. So, she often slept on her bike at gas stations or, if luck was on her side, she could stay with Black families she met on her way. bit.ly/36McNji
By the start of WW II, Stringfield became an asset to the U.S. govt as a civilian motorcycle dispatcher—the only woman in her unit. W a military crest attached to her blue Harley-Davidson Knucklehead, she carried documents between domestic US bases. bit.ly/36McNji
Later in the 1950’s she moved to Miami. When she tried to obtain her motorcycle license, the police made it clear that they weren’t about to let a Black woman ride a motorcycle around their city. bit.ly/36McNji
Stringfield demanded a mtg w their capt, a white 🏍 cop in the Blk precinct. He ordered her to perform several difficult 🏍tricks. She nailed them w ease. “From that day on, I didn’t have any trouble from the police, & I got my license too,” she said. bit.ly/36McNji
Stringfield later performed during local races, founded the Iron Horse motorcycle club, and became publicly known as the “Motorcycle Queen of Miami.” Even in her seventies, she still rode her motorcycle to church, according to the The Miami Herald. bit.ly/36McNji
Stringfield died in 1993 (age 82) from the complications related to an “enlarged ❤️,” but she rode right up until her death. She told her doc that she kept riding despite her illness: “I told him if I don’t ride, I won’t live long & so I never did quit.” bit.ly/36McNji
In 2000, the American Motorcycle Assoc Hall of Fame created the Bessie Stringfield Award to honor "an indiv who has been instrumental in bringing emerging markets into the world of motorcycling.” Two years later, 9 yrs after her death, the AMA inducted her into its Hall of Fame. 
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
