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Bessie Stringfield
Bessie Stringfield
Bessie Stringfield
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Bessie Stringfield (born Betsy Beatrice White; 1911 or 1912 – February 16, 1993), also known as the "Motorcycle Queen of Miami", was an American motorcyclist who was the first African-American woman to ride across the United States solo, and was one of the few civilian motorcycle dispatch riders for the US Army during World War II.[2][3]

Key Information

Credited with breaking down barriers for both women and African-American motorcyclists, Stringfield was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame.[4][5][6] The award bestowed by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) for "Superior Achievement by a Female Motorcyclist" is named in her honor.

Early life

[edit]

Stringfield was born Betsy Beatrice White to Maggie Cherry and James White, living in Edenton, North Carolina.[2] In later years, she created a different version of her life, saying she was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1911 to a black Jamaican father and a white Dutch mother, James Ferguson and Maria Ellis.[2][7] Her birth date has been publicized as February 1911 with the birth name Betsy Leonora Ellis, though her death certificate says she was born in March 1911 in Kingston with parents names as James Richard White and M. Cherry; a Social Security record has her birth date as March 1912.[2] Other public records verify she was born to Cherry and White in North Carolina.[2]

Esther Bennett, Stringfield's niece, told The New York Times in 2018 that Stringfield had lied about her origins.[2] Ann Ferrar, author of Stringfield's authorized biography, said she helped perpetuate some of the stories Stringfield had made up about her life because Stringfield had asked Ferrar "to tell her truth as her friend," and that Stringfield "running from her early past" did not diminish her achievements or inspirational influence on younger generations.[2] In the popular account of Stringfield's life, her family migrated to Boston, Massachusetts, when she was still young. It is said that her parents died when Stringfield was five and she was adopted and raised by an Irish woman, though this has also been disputed by Bennett.

At the age of 16 Stringfield taught herself to ride her first motorcycle, a 1928 Indian Scout. In 1930, at the age of 19, she commenced traveling across the United States. She made seven more long-distance trips in the US on Harley-Davidson motorycles, and eventually rode through the 48 lower states, Europe, Brazil and Haiti.[8][4] During this time, she earned money from performing motorcycle stunts in carnival shows.[4] Due to her skin color, Stringfield was often denied accommodation while traveling, so she would sleep on her motorcycle at filling stations. Due to her sex, she was refused prizes in flat track races she entered.[9]

World War II and later life

[edit]

During World War II Stringfield served as a civilian courier for the US Army, carrying documents between domestic army bases. She completed the rigorous training and rode her own blue 61 cubic inch Harley-Davidson.[4] During the four years she worked for the Army, she crossed the United States eight times. She regularly encountered racism during this time, reportedly being deliberately knocked down by a white man in a pickup truck while traveling in the South.

In the 1950s Stringfield moved to Miami, Florida, where at first she was told "nigger women are not allowed to ride motorcycles" by the local police.[10] After repeatedly being pulled over and harassed by officers, she visited the police captain. They went to a nearby park to prove her riding abilities. She gained the captain's approval to ride and did not have any more trouble with the police.[11]

She qualified as a nurse there and founded the Iron Horse Motorcycle Club.[8] Her skill and antics at motorcycle shows gained the attention of the local press, leading to the nickname of "The Negro Motorcycle Queen". This nickname later changed to "The Motorcycle Queen of Miami", a moniker she carried for the remainder of her life.

Stringfield died in 1993 from a heart condition.[8] Robert Scott Thomas, whose family had employed Stringfield as a housekeeper when Thomas was a child, was named executor and beneficiary of Stringfield's estate, unaware of any relatives at the time.[2]

Personal life

[edit]

She married and divorced six times, losing three babies with her first husband. She kept the last name of her third husband, Arthur Stringfield.[4] Stringfield was Catholic.[12]

Legacy

[edit]

In 1990 the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) paid tribute to her in their inaugural "Heroes of Harley-Davidson" exhibition, as she owned 27 Harley motorcycles.[13][14] In 2000 the AMA created the "Bessie Stringfield Memorial Award" to recognize outstanding achievement by a female motorcyclist. Stringfield was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2002.[4]

The Bessie Stringfield All-Female Ride was founded in 2014 to honor her legacy and promote women's participation in motorcycle riding.[15] It ceased operations in 2021, the same year as the founding of the Bessie Belles Riding Club.[16]

Many personal possessions of Stringfield featured in the documentary are on display at the Harley-Davidson Museum as of October 2025 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[17]

[edit]

In 2017 Timeline released free and online a short video about Bessie Stringfield, "Meet Bessie Stringfield, the Black ‘Motorcycle Queen’".[18] The 2020 HBO series Lovecraft Country features a homage to Bessie Stringfield.

A documentary, "To Myself, With Love: The Bessie Stringfield Story", directed by Diane Weis and executive produced by Sam Pollard and Gabby Revilla Lugo, made its premiere at AmDocs Film Festival in Palm Springs, California, in March 2024 and garnered The Special Jury Award.[19][20] The documentary short screened at film festivals across the United States.

References

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Bessie Stringfield

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from Grokipedia
Bessie Stringfield (c. 1911 – 1993) was an American motorcyclist who pioneered long-distance solo riding as the first black woman to cross the by in 1930. She completed eight such transcontinental journeys during the 1930s and 1940s, navigating routes under that required reliance on for safe lodging and fuel. In the 1940s, Stringfield raced in segregated "colored" events across the American South, winning prizes in more than half her starts on 61-cubic-inch motorcycles. During , she served as a dispatch rider for U.S. Army motorcycle units stationed in and Georgia. Over her six-decade riding career, she owned 27 motorcycles and settled in , where she earned the nickname " Queen of " for performing stunts and leading parades. Stringfield was posthumously inducted into the American Motorcyclist Association's Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2002 for her barrier-breaking contributions to amid racial and gender restrictions.

Early Life

Childhood and Family Background

Bessie Stringfield was born circa 1911 in , though she later recounted her birthplace as , a narrative some attribute to her storytelling tendencies. Family members and local accounts support the Edenton origin, where she spent her first five years amid the economic constraints and segregationist policies affecting Black families in the rural South at the time. Around age five, Stringfield became orphaned or separated from her parents—details on the cause remain unclear, with some reports citing but conflicting on timing and location—and was sent north to live with relatives or an adoptive family in , . Raised in an Irish Catholic household, she attended parochial schools and exhibited early , adapting to a new urban environment and familial dynamics without evident reliance on extended support networks. This period of upheaval fostered Stringfield's resilience, as she navigated personal loss and relocation through individual determination rather than institutional aid, setting a foundation for her later nonconformity to societal expectations for women of her background.

Introduction to Motorcycling

Bessie Stringfield acquired her first , a Indian Scout, at the age of 16 while living in the area. The bike was a gift from her adoptive mother, an Irish Catholic woman who had taken her in after the death of her biological parents. Lacking any formal training or prior experience, Stringfield taught herself to ride through , quickly adapting to the machine's controls and developing the balance required for operation. She began with short local rides, persisting despite societal norms that viewed riding as unsuitable for women, especially Black women in the Jim Crow era. Stringfield later recalled acquiring the bike with the defiance, "even though good girls didn't ride motorcycles, I got one." Her early mastery involved hands-on mechanical experimentation, as she learned to troubleshoot and maintain the engine herself, fostering a deep that defined her approach to . This foundational phase in her teenage years laid the groundwork for her future endeavors, emphasizing practical problem-solving over conventional instruction.

Pre-War Riding Career

Inaugural Cross-Country Solo Ride

In 1930, at the age of 19, Bessie Stringfield completed her first solo cross-country motorcycle trip, riding a 1928 Indian Scout from her home in , , to and back. This journey marked the beginning of eight such long-distance solo rides she undertook during the 1930s and 1940s, without reliance on organized support or companions. Stringfield determined her routes spontaneously by tossing a into the air and traveling toward the state indicated by where it opened or landed, reflecting her personal method of navigation amid uncertain conditions. The trip presented logistical hurdles, including mechanical unreliability of the era's motorcycles, adverse weather, and limited access to services due to racial prejudice. Mechanics frequently refused to repair her bike, compelling Stringfield to perform her own maintenance, such as basic engine adjustments and part replacements, to continue onward. Lodging options were scarce for travelers, as formal guides like did not yet exist; she often camped outdoors or sought informal stays through word-of-mouth networks within Black communities along the route. Stringfield's success in this unsupported endeavor highlighted her resourcefulness and determination, as she navigated sparsely paved roads and societal barriers through rather than external aid. The ride's spontaneity amplified its risks, distinguishing it from her subsequent, more methodical journeys, and underscored the individual agency required to traverse the solo under Jim Crow-era constraints.

Additional Long-Distance Journeys

Following her inaugural 1930 cross-country journey, Stringfield completed seven additional solo trips across the during the 1930s, bringing her total to eight by the decade's end. These rides, conducted amid the economic hardships of the , emphasized endurance and adaptability, with Stringfield primarily using reliable Henderson or models equipped for long-haul travel. Unlike the novelty-driven spontaneity of her first trip, subsequent journeys reflected refined preparation, including routine mechanical maintenance learned from trial-and-error repairs on earlier routes, which minimized breakdowns and extended daily mileage. To foster unpredictability and mental resilience, Stringfield consistently randomized her routes by flipping a at intersections or consulting verses for directional guidance, a method that forced constant adaptation to varying terrains and weather without reliance on fixed itineraries. This approach contrasted with the inaugural ride's exploratory mapping, as repeated exposure honed her navigation skills, enabling her to cover the lower 48 states multiple times while averaging hundreds of miles daily. During these travels, she navigated Jim Crow-era segregation by seeking lodging in Black communities or, when denied, sleeping atop her , thereby leveraging informal networks of over formal accommodations. Economic self-sufficiency underpinned these ventures, with Stringfield funding fuel and repairs through stunt performances—such as standing upright on the seat while riding—and prize money from informal competitive races against local riders at stops along the way. These side pursuits, often at carnivals or roadside gatherings, underscored a pragmatic persistence driven by personal initiative rather than external support, yielding enough to sustain her itinerant lifestyle without interrupting the core objective of cross-continental traversal. By the late 1930s, this cumulative experience had transformed her from a novice adventurer into a seasoned long-distance rider capable of integrating performance income seamlessly with travel demands.

World War II Contributions

Civilian Dispatch Rider Role

During , Bessie Stringfield served as a civilian motorcycle dispatch rider for the , transporting documents between military bases and camps primarily in . As one of the few women employed in this capacity, she was the sole female in a segregated unit composed of riders, a role that required navigating both military hierarchies and the era's in the . Stringfield rode her own blue 1941 to carry out these duties, which involved time-sensitive deliveries of sensitive materials under operational constraints, including adherence to military protocols amid wartime urgency. She completed the rigorous physical and skills training demanded of dispatch riders, leveraging her prior experience with motorcycle maintenance to ensure vehicle reliability during missions. Her service occurred against the backdrop of limited opportunities for in military-adjacent roles, with formal documentation sparse due to the civilian contractor status and era-specific record-keeping gaps for non-combat personnel. Stringfield's ability to execute errands without reported major disruptions underscored practical competence in high-pressure environments, though primary archives provide scant corroboration beyond unit-level accounts.

Founding of the Iron Horse Motorcycle Club

In the , following her relocation to a suburb, Bessie Stringfield established the Iron Horse Motorcycle Club to create a dedicated space for African American motorcyclists amid widespread that barred them from predominantly white riding groups. As the club's sole female member and leader, Stringfield drew on her extensive riding experience to guide participants, fostering a sense of community through organized group rides and home-based gatherings. These activities emphasized practical skills and , reflecting Stringfield's pragmatic approach to overcoming societal barriers via private organization rather than formal advocacy. The club operated until disbanding in the 1980s, contributing to local Black riding culture without documented ties to broader political movements.

Post-War Life and Career

Relocation to and Business Ventures

Following , Stringfield relocated permanently to , , in the early 1950s, ending her era of long-distance motorcycle journeys. She purchased a house in a Miami suburb using savings accumulated from her riding performances and dispatch work, demonstrating amid postwar economic opportunities. In , Stringfield capitalized on her self-taught mechanical expertise from decades of maintaining and repairing her own during travels. She operated a repair shop, applying practical knowledge gained from roadside tinkering to commercial service, particularly for local riders in a segregated where such skills were scarce for . Stringfield also conducted informal classes teaching to members, including women, fostering skills transfer in a underserved by formal training amid the postwar boom. This entrepreneurial adaptation highlighted her transition from itinerant rider to local business operator, navigating Jim Crow barriers by targeting Black and enthusiast networks for repairs and instruction.

Nursing Career and Community Involvement

In the 1950s, after relocating to a suburb and purchasing a home, Stringfield transitioned to a nursing career, completing to qualify as a in 1959. As an LPN, she delivered practical services in the local area, supporting patient care needs amid her continued participation in occasional activities. This professional shift enabled Stringfield to establish a stable livelihood in healthcare, where she applied her skills in direct patient support, contrasting her earlier itinerant riding lifestyle while sustaining community ties through riding. Her work spanned decades, reflecting resilience in adapting to postwar economic demands for in .

Personal Life

Marriages and Family

Bessie Stringfield married six times, with each union ending in divorce. She retained the Stringfield from her third husband, Arthur Stringfield, at his request during their divorce. Specific names and dates for most husbands remain undocumented in public records, though she later expressed a preference for partners significantly younger than herself in a 1981 interview. The brevity of her marriages aligned with her nomadic lifestyle and emphasis on personal independence, as she described in personal accounts; she noted readiness to wed again at age 72 provided the prospective partner met her age criteria. No evidence indicates she assumed traditional domestic roles long-term, consistent with her documented pattern of prioritizing mobility over settled family life, verifiable through divorce records and data reflecting transient addresses. Stringfield bore three children with her first husband, all of whom died young—two during or shortly after birth and the third at approximately four years old from an undetermined cause. She had no additional children following these losses. These tragedies occurred early in her adult life, prior to her most extensive riding endeavors, leaving her without surviving descendants.

Religious Beliefs and Later Years

In her youth, Stringfield was adopted by an Irish-American family in and raised as a Catholic, an upbringing that instilled a lifelong devotion to the faith. She attributed her survival and success amid racial hostility and personal dangers to divine intervention, frequently invoking God's protection during travels where she relied on for safe lodging and passage, stating, "I knew the would take care of me and He did." Her spirituality emphasized personal reliance on a rather than institutional affiliations, viewing life's perils as part of a purposeful path ordained by faith; she even claimed in reflections that appeared in a dream to teach her motorcycle riding. Stringfield maintained her Catholic convictions into advanced age, crediting them for the resilience that sustained her independent lifestyle, though she considered but ultimately forwent a religious like becoming a . In her final years, residing in the area, she continued occasional light motorcycle riding despite declining health from an enlarged heart, embodying a private, introspective piety unentwined with broader communal or organizational roles. She died on February 16, 1993, in , at age 82 from heart complications.

Legacy

Awards and Inductions

Stringfield received no major formal awards or inductions during her lifetime, consistent with the limited recognition afforded to in motorsports amid mid-20th-century racial and barriers. Her achievements, including multiple cross-country rides and service as a civilian dispatch rider during , were largely overlooked by contemporary institutions until posthumous honors emerged. In 2002, Stringfield was posthumously inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, acknowledging her barrier-breaking solo rides across the in and , as well as her contributions to as an African American woman. The induction highlighted her documented endurance feats, such as completing eight cross-country trips on motorcycles like Harley-Davidsons, often under adverse conditions including segregation-era travel restrictions. Earlier, in 2000, the established the Bessie Stringfield Memorial Award in her honor, an annual recognition for superior achievement by female motorcyclists, though this named tribute did not constitute a personal induction. Local tributes in , such as events commemorating her as the "Motorcycle Queen of Miami," preceded broader national acknowledgment but remained informal until later developments like the 2025 street renaming in Gardens.

Cultural Representations and Recent Recognition

In 2016, Joel Christian Gill published the graphic novel Bessie Stringfield: Tales of the , No. 2, which dramatizes Stringfield's early life, solo cross-country rides, and perseverance amid racial and barriers through illustrated narratives blending historical facts with imaginative elements. The work, part of Gill's series on overlooked Black historical figures, received acclaim for its visual storytelling, including a selection as a best historical teen book of 2016. The 2023 short documentary To Myself, With Love: The Bessie Stringfield Story, directed by Diane Fredel-Weis, marks dedicated to Stringfield's , incorporating previously unreleased materials such as personal artifacts and interviews to depict her as a trailblazer in . Premiering at in 2024, it garnered awards including at the RiverRun International and qualified for the 2025 in the documentary short category, with viewership driven by its focus on her eight solo U.S. traversals starting in 1930. Post-2020 commemorations have expanded through exhibits and rider initiatives, such as the Museum's dedicated show announced in 2024, which highlights Stringfield's artifacts and influence on women's shortly after the documentary's circuit success. Clubs like the Bessie Belles Riding Club, established in 2021 under the , organize events to emulate her endurance rides and foster inclusion for Black and female enthusiasts, reflecting heightened archival interest in early 20th-century adventure narratives. These efforts amplify Stringfield's in popular media, though biographical dramatizations occasionally condense verifiable details from her era's socio-racial constraints for narrative accessibility.

References

  1. https://blackpast.org/african-american-history/bessie-stringfield-1911-1993/
  2. https://aaregistry.org/story/bessie-stringfield-motorcyclist-born/
  3. https://www.wfae.org/race-equity/2025-06-06/nc-native-was-first-african-american-woman-to-ride-a-motorcycle-solo-cross-coutry
  4. https://nationalmcmuseum.org/featured-articles/bessie-stringfield-southern-distance-rider/
  5. https://americanmotorcyclist.com/hall-of-famer-spotlight-bessie-stringfield/
  6. https://nationalmcmuseum.org/2023/02/17/bessie-stringfield-southern-rider-goes-the-distance-by-ann-ferrar/
  7. https://travelnoire.com/bessie-stringfield
  8. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/bessie-stringfield-motorcycle-queen
  9. https://antiquearchaeology.com/blogs/two-lanes-blog/legendary-bessie-stringfield-motorcycle-queen
  10. https://www.dksuperiorclerk.com/mt-content/uploads/2022/02/black-history-facts-4-bessie-stringfield.pdf
  11. https://russbrown.com/bessie-stringfield-a-true-legend/
  12. https://www.adventure-journal.com/2021/02/the-motorcycle-queen-of-miami-was-more-than-fast-enough/
  13. https://www.vice.com/en/article/bessie-stringfield-first-black-woman-motorcycled-across-america-jim-crow/
  14. https://hof.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.aspx?RacerID=277
  15. https://womenridersnow.com/addicted-to-cross-country-motorcycle-riding/
  16. https://expeditionportal.com/the-legendary-bessie-stringfield/
  17. https://www.pushblack.us/news/her-solo-motorcycle-rides-were-dangerous-she-never-gave
  18. https://bessiestringfieldbook.com/
  19. https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/bessie-and-beyond-women-who-inspire-us-to-ride
  20. https://www.kfvs12.com/story/31402258/womens-history-month-spotlight-bessie-stringfield/
  21. http://hof.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.aspx?RacerID=277
  22. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article228507024.html
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  24. https://blackamericaweb.com/2020/07/06/little-known-black-history-fact-bessie-stringfield/
  25. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/bessie-stringfield-the-motorcycle-queen-of-miami
  26. https://www.rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/bessie-stringfield
  27. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/165444982/bessie_b-stringfield
  28. https://www.blackcatholicmessenger.org/bessie-stringfield-harley-museum/
  29. https://www.insurance.harley-davidson.com/resources/bessie-stringfield
  30. https://www.earpeace.co.uk/blogs/bits-and-peaces/bessie-stringfield-the-motorcycle-queen-of-miami
  31. https://americanmotorcyclist.com/ama-101/ama-board-of-directors-awards/ama-bessie-stringfield-award/
  32. https://www.miamitimesonline.com/lifestyles/motorcycle-queen-of-miami-to-be-honored/article_fe87fdc0-9097-11e6-bbaa-10604b9ffe60.html
  33. https://hylonewsmiami.com/2025/05/01/miami-gardens-honors-first-black-woman-to-ride-solo-across-u-s-with-her-own-street/
  34. https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/artist/joel-christian-gill
  35. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29363023-bessie-stringfield
  36. https://bessiefilm.com/
  37. https://www.rideapart.com/news/743537/bessie-stringfield-motorcycle-documentary-oscar/
  38. https://riverrunfilm.com/events/tomyselfwithlovethebessiestringfieldstory/
  39. https://americanmotorcyclist.com/stringfield-sisterhood/
  40. https://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/movies-news-reviews/article296804069.html
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