Harleys Hidden Treasure's

 

East Bay Dragons (1950's)

The 1950 was a hard time for equality in America, with oppression and racism heavily used as if it were normal. Oakland, California maintained a counter-cultural element which upheld the lives of some (If you were lucky enough). The East Bay Dragons was an all black, all Harley, all chopper motorcycle gang which provided a brother hood of unity in segregated America, a cultural community creating a historic underground scene.

 While Rosa Parks took her historic bus ride, and as Dr. 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 days when a black man riding a Harley chopper was a revolutionary act.

Tobie gene, founder and president maintained this group, starting as a car club then converting to the Harley. With along side other legendary  groups such as the Hells Angles, Oakland raiders and The black panthers. The club encountered street scuffles, rival clubs, ethnic stereotypes, police misconduct and racial tension.This is proverbially the first African America motorcycle club and is still maintained to this day, such an inspiration when looked at in the face of adversity.