Bessie Stringfield (1911 – 1993), nicknamed "The Motorcycle Queen of Miami" was the first black woman to travel the United States alone and on a motorcycle, facing many racist and sexist prejudices along the way .
A room on a map
Bessie Stringfield was born in Kingston, Jamaica to a white Dutch mother and a black Jamaican father. Shortly after his birth, his parents moved to Boston. They both die when Bessie is only five years old, and the little girl is placed in the care of an Irish woman.
At the age of 16, Bessie received her first motorcycle as a gift, an Indian Scout model from the Indian Motorcycle Company. Self-taught, she taught herself to drive and, in 1930, aged 19, she left for the first of her long explorations across the United States. To choose her destination, she gets into the habit of throwing a penny on a map, and going to the point indicated.
In the 1930s and 1940s, Bessie made eight long trips across the country, visiting 48 of its states. The racism and sexism she faces frequently closes doors for her, and she often has to seek shelter with African Americans or sleep on her motorcycle at gas stations, but she is undeterred. She is not afraid, in particular, to cross the southern states, where racism is particularly prevalent, and where she will be, during one of her trips, deliberately knocked down by a white trucker.
Prohibited from races
During her travels, Bessie Stringfield earns money by performing stunts on a motorcycle at demonstrations and festivals. Prohibited from racing on tracks because of her sex, she repeatedly passes herself off as a man in order to be able to participate in spite of everything; the prizes she should have won are always denied to her when she removes her helmet and reveals her gender.
Bessie marries and divorces six times; her third husband, Arthur Stringfield, asks her to keep her name because he thinks she makes him famous. After losing three babies with her first husband, she will have no more children.
The Second World War
During World War II, Bessie Stringfield served in the US Army, transporting documents between military bases in US territory on her Harley Davidson. During the four years that she worked for the army, she crossed the United States eight times. In the 1950s, Bessie moved to Miami, Florida, where she was told by the police:“nigger women are not allowed to ride motorcycles (black women 1 are not allowed to drive motorcycles ). She does not allow herself to be impressed, but is regularly arrested and harassed by the police. To end it, she goes with the police captain to a nearby park to prove her abilities on a motorcycle. His demonstration finally earns him the right to drive his motorcycle.
The Motorcycle Queen of Miami
In Miami, Bessie Stringfield obtains a nursing diploma but does not leave her motorcycle behind. She founded the Iron Horse Motorcycle Club and quickly became known to the local press, earning the nickname "The Negro Motorcycle Queen" and then "The Motorcycle Queen of Miami" for her prowess. On one of the 27 Harley-Davidsons she owned, she continued her races, trips and stunt demonstrations, until her death in 1993 from heart trouble.
In 2000, the American Motorcyclist Association honored her by creating the "Bessie Stringfield Memorial Award" to celebrate the exploits of female bikers. In 2002, Bessie Stringfield entered the Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
1 In more derogatory terms which I have chosen not to write here.