Californias black clubs descend on Fresno each October, convening to celebrate motorcycles. History As a car club. For now, though, Levingstons going strong at 80, and looking to buy his next Harley: a three-wheeler. And Harper has been a member of the club since. Other makes of motorcycles are not allowed. East Bay Dragons founder Tobie Levingston in 2012: I'm really honored I got to meet him. In Truth Be Told, Spellman illustrates the juxtaposition of that kind of East Bay and North Bay life. Levingston built the East Bay Dragons Motorcycle Club on the values of community, family, and the tight bonds of brotherhood. The Dragons were founded in the 1950s as a car club, but switched over to motorcycles in 1959. MC Raw, a Fresno-based rapper, calls a motorcycle a missile with handlebars. Watts-based construction worker Blackie says being on a Harley is like having sex. And G-14 Classified, who rode his Suzuki Boulevard 1500 from Sacramento, calls riding a bike almost like a low-level flying. With The Path behind him, Dunbar says he's considering his next move, including directing a project about the East Bay Dragons Motorcycle Club, a familiar subject given the years he spent on FX . Check out the home to the first African-American motorcycle club in the nation, founded in 1959. The East Bay Dragons were founded by Tobie Gene Levingston in 1959. all that is interesting Hells Angels' old ladies (girlfriends) sit during a rest stop on the group's ride from San Bernardino to Bakersfield, California. The East Bay Dragons formed in 1959, during a time when the image of a black man riding a motorcycle could provoke a strong reaction. The Black Panthers and The East Bay Dragons Motorcycle Club were sometimes mistaken for each other by law enforcement. What we're about. When we're at the family bar, it looks different than it does in Marin, where it's very crisp. The East Bay Dragons motorcycling club was founded by Tobie Gene Levingston in the sixties, when a black man riding a Harley Davidson was unheard of. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA AUGUST 29: East Bay Dragons motorcycle club member Ray Nelson points out at a wall with nicknames of late club members at the East Bay Dragons Motorcycle Club in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019. Now in its 60th year of existence, the East Bay Dragons are one of America's first-ever all-black motorcycle clubs. S tarted in 1959, it was one of the first all-black motorcycle clubs. "I hadn't seen it on screen and I just thought it was such an interesting flavor to add," Spellman continued. Crime and Public Safety | He passed in July 2020. Click To See Our Other Locations Below: Location Address; 1: Double Dragon Chinese Restaurant: East Bay Street (close to Paradise Island Bridge) 2: Contact information for its California chapter: So they were like all these tough biker guys and everything else, with all these kids around and it was a big Bay Area event and they were kind of the backdrop of my childhood.". MotorBooks International, 15 Dec 2011, Soul on Bikes: The East Bay Dragons MC and the Black Biker Set, Tobie Levingston, Keith Zimmerman, Kent Zimmerman, Motorbooks, November 15, 2013, The Original Wild Ones: Tales of the Boozefighters Motorcycle Club. Because its made in America and they keep jobs here, Levingston explains. East Bay Dragons President Tobie Gene Levingston at the group's clubhouse in East Oakland. [18], The One Percenter Encyclopedia: The World of Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs from Abyss Ghosts to Zombies Elite. New episodes of Truth Be Told drop every Friday on Apple TV+. OAKLAND Willie Harper still remembers the first time he saw the East Bay Dragons then an emerging motorcycle club roll through the streets of West Oakland. Three Bay Area men, including justice reform activist, plead guilty in Norteo RICO murder case, Californias hardest to book campground isnt in a famous park. Going up North with a story about a Hells Angels Motorcycle Club member. Stay in touch. This insidious belief of EBDs threat traveled all the way to Oakland and with the help of the Oakland Police Department, and at the conclusion of the 60th anniversary celebration, on September 2, 2019, the EBD were surrounded by Oakland Police Department officers due to racist motives as they were enjoying themselves at Level 13 in Oakland, the civil complaint says. Scott Adams faces consequence culture as U.S. newspapers drop Dilbert The back of Joe's vest is emblazoned in the original East Bay Dragons MC patch and surrounded by red rhinestones. Tobie Gene Levingston was born to a sharecropper father who made the migration west, and eventually settled with his family in Brookfield Village, Oakland (Tribune). He is part of East Bay Dragons, an all-black and all-male Harley Davidson riding motorcycle club in Oakland, California. Soak in the retro soil & oil biker shots from the Chosen Few, and East Bay Dragons motorcycle clubs In 1959, the Chosen Few MC officially formed out in LA on the cusp of the chaotic 60s. Opens in a new window or tab. Bob Stokstad Photo. Their founder, Tobie Gene Levingston, remained president until his death last July. The East Bay Dragons in the '60s or '70s. packs - $29.00 (8) 10 oz. "Soul on Bikes," a book written by East Bay Dragons' founding member Tobie Levingston, provided insight for both Spellman and Cephas Jones, who acknowledge their shared memories of the club as all positive. Were like family to each other, said Levingston, whos in his 70s. The East Bay Dragons MC is an all-black, all-male, all-Harley Davidson riding motorcycle club founded in Oakland, California, in 1959 by Tobie Gene Levingston, who died in July 2020. OAKLAND Tobie Gene Levingston, who founded the East Bay Dragons as the Bay Area's first all-Black motorcycle club and one of the nation's first, died Tuesday, July 7 of natural causes. via East Bay Dragons/Flickr. By 1959, the East Bay Dragons had developed a reputation among Oakland Police Department for their numerous melees and brawls with local street gangs from East and West Oakland. Terms of Use | (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA AUGUST 29: A special and designed booth for East Bay Dragons Motorcycle Club members is featured at the East Bay Dragons Motorcycle Club in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019. Wheels of Soul MC Book Soul On Bikes The East Bay Dragons and the Black Biker Set Read More: The group, which initially started out as a car club in the late 1950s, rides customized Harley Davidson motorcycles (also known as choppers) and is a well-loved fixture of West Oakland. And thats why they were so tight. The East Bay Dragons formed in 1959, during a time when the image of a black man riding a motorcycle could provoke a strong reaction. Nelson grew up idolizing the Dragons, he said, watching them roll en mass to his grandmothers house, popping wheelies and burning rubber down the street. East Bay Dr. MotorBooks International, 15 Feb 2009, The Harley-Davidson Reader. The Dragons' other business manager goes by the name "Tug Boat." $45.00. Unlike some of their "outlaw" counterparts, the members of this club have planted deeper roots in the community and, consequently, have supportive neighbors. Hes a solidly built man with a shaved head. The #1 Biker Radio show Motorcycle Madhouse Motorcycle Mayhem hosted by James Hollywood Macecari is on all major platforms, The East Bay Dragons are an incredible organization, Reid said. The county has not responded in court. pic.twitter.com/hDBvuGieca, Jay Leno's Garage (@LenosGarage) July 1, 2020. "I hope the Dragons ride on for years and years to come." It worked, and the club began attracting other kids from the neighborhood. LocalWiki is a grassroots effort to collect, share and open the worlds local knowledge. The Rock Machine gang has a lengthy history overseas but police said the group had only been active several months. Started in 1959,it was one of the first all-black motorcycle clubs. The East Bay Dragons. By Nate Gartrell. I remember staying up late making hamburgers and hot dogs for these cats into the wee hours of the morning to feed these guys after they would come from the club.". Long time friend Sonny Barger[4] suggested he switch the club from a car club to a motorcycle club because bikes were more discreet than cars, easier to maintain and cheaper to work on. The "Pagan's Motorcycle Club" has increased membership in New Jersey and Pennsylvania in recent years, law enforcement authorities say. While Rosa Parks took her historic bus ride, before Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X and Huey P. Newton and the Black Panthers stood bravely for equal rights, the East Bay Dragons MC risked life and limb during the days when it was a revolutionary act for a black man . They've also been bred to produce a variety of beautiful patterns and colors. East Bay Dragons motorcycle club founder dies, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Alameda County DAs new policy will reduce prison sentences through widespread elimination of sentencing enhancements. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA AUGUST 29: 524 is inscribed in a motorcycles windshield when is used for races and represents EBD, in the alphabetical order, for the East Bay Dragons at the East Bay Dragons Motorcycle Club in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019. Levingston grew up in rural Louisiana, the son of a sharecropper. Nate Gartrell covers crime, politics, and corruption in Contra Costa County. In East Oakland, the biker club is beloved, said Councilman Larry Reid, who said the groups clubhouse in his district on International Boulevard has produced food distribution on Thanksgivings and toy drives during Christmas. Originally from Los Angeles, Session first came to the East Bay in 1982 when he was stationed at Alameda's naval base. Its the traffic, its the people youre riding with.. The East Bay Dragons have a a rich history as the first all-black motorcycle club. Thanks for Staying Tight & Livingston Right!!! Thats the reason I ride the Harley Davidson.. Hes had health problems in recent years, including a bout with cancer, so he wasnt able to ride his own Harley to the Halfway Run. The club is turning 60 years this weekend at the same and only location it was founded in East Oakland in 1959. The insignia is a large square patch featuring the club name in red text placed above the logo of a green dragon over a yellow background. All I say: Dont you get your butt outta here and get in and get out and jump and run off. East Bay Dragons motorcycle club going to court. They believe "you are either a member of the club or not, no in between". David DeBolt spent more than a decade reporting on the East Bay, with a focus on Oakland City Hall and the Oakland Police Department, for the Bay Area News Group and The Oaklandside before transitioning to become an editor at the Bay Area News Group overseeing breaking news for The Mercury News and East Bay Times in August 2022. Rapid demise of Dilbert no surprise to some who were watching Not that the police get the message. Bearded Dragons. IRS delays tax deadline for Bay Area, but California hasnt followed: What should you do? What does Spellman know? After World War II, his family moved to Oakland. Reid said the Dragons have held events at the Oakland Zoo and never faced complaints except about the noise of their motorcycles. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. LLH&R." Levingston and his four brothers were born in Louisiana to a sharecropper father who made the migration West, along with thousands of other black American families, in the 1950s. As a result of this, the suit alleges, fairgrounds staff invented the ruse that there was a credible threat to the safety of the event, but there was no credible threat at all.. French soccer legend dies at 89; scored record 13 goals in 1958 World Cup, Obituary: Richard Roth, 83, was former vice mayor of Alameda, Olympic gold medalist Bob Richards dies; was first athlete featured on a Wheaties box, Rapid demise of Dilbert no surprise to some who were watching, Respect the patch: How Oaklands oldest Black motorcycle club survived nearly 60 years. But through all the changes, the Dragons stuck with the same man as president: Tobie Gene Levingston. The car club did not adopt the official name "Dragons Car Club" until 1958. The East Bay Dragons turned 60, and brought all the bikes out. Members of The East Bay Dragons must own and ride a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Scott Adams faces consequence culture as U.S. newspapers drop Dilbert, Rapid demise of Dilbert no surprise to some who were watching, Elon Musk tweets support for Dilbert creator Scott Adams after racist tirade. By Erin Baldassari OAKLAND Willie Harper still remembers the first time he saw the East Bay Dragons then an emerging motorcycle club roll through the streets of West Oakland. In 2006 Alex Abramovich came across the name Trevor Latham in a high-school alumni note: "I moved to California, became a bouncer, and started a motorcycle club." He is a graduate of San Francisco State University with a BA degree in journalism. The bakerys website says its founder, Kim Cloud, is proud of that fact because his family benefited from the Panthers free breakfast program as kids. Wilson has been a member for 21 years and the club is turning 60 years this weekend at the same and only location it was founded in East Oakland. Parnells father Leander Shreve Scoville, played by This Is Us star Ron Cephas Jones, is a former Black Panther who has put all his energy into family both his biological one as well as his thriving biker community which, according to Spellman, is directly inspired by the East Bay Dragons. In Spring of 1967, East Bay Dragons member Joe Louis opened up Papa Joes Soul Food a few short blocks from the clubhouse. Theyd only talk about the good things they do and how they are positive role models for our children., Insane Throttle Support Club Become a member Now, Insane Throttle/Motorcycle Madhouse Radio YouTube and Audio Disclaimer, Meet the Insane Throttle Contributing Columnist James Hollywood Macecari, Motorcycle Clubs Riding Clubs and Associations Near Me Index & Listings, Our Policies here at Insane Throttle Publications. CBS News Bay Area: Free 24/7 News CBS . 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