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East Bay Dragons
The East Bay Dragons MC is an all-black, all-male, all-Harley Davidson riding outlaw motorcycle club founded in Oakland, California, in 1959 by Tobie Gene Levingston, who died in July 2020.
Levingston founded the car club shortly after arriving to Oakland from Louisiana in 1955 with the intent of providing an outlet to keep his younger brother and friends off the rough and tumble streets of Oakland. The car club did not adopt the official name "Dragons Car Club" until 1958. The words "East Bay" were added by member Joe Louis, signifying their region of origin. 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. The turning point for the car club came following an incident at a local party at the Snow Building, a rented hall by the Oakland Zoo, adjacent to the Grass Valley neighborhood of the Oakland Hills. A fight broke out, and one of the members drove his car through the front door of the building onto the dance floor.
After constant harassment and profiling from the local police, Levingston had considered disbanding the car club. Long time friend Sonny Barger 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. After following the recommendation of Barger, The East Bay Dragons officially became a motorcycle club in 1959. In addition to trouble with the Oakland Police Department, at that time the idea of sustaining a car club became difficult. Many working class and working poor black families could not afford more than one car per household and Dragons members were no exception. Many club members could only have access to the family car either during the weekends or late at night.
Motorcycles were more practical because they were not depended on by an entire household. In 1959, and even well into the sixties, although there were two Harley Davidson dealerships in Oakland, no dealership in the Bay Area would sell bikes to black customers. All the original founding members had to buy used bikes. This was far more affordable as new bikes cost around $500 yet a used Harley Davidson could be bought for as little as $30.
Prior to the East Bay Dragons, the only other black outlaw motorcycle club in the Bay Area was the Fillmore based Frisco Rattlers MC.
Along with the Chosen Few MC and Los Angeles Defiant Ones MC, the East Bay Dragons are one of the oldest surviving predominantly black motorcycle clubs founded in California, (the LA Defiant Ones were founded two years earlier in 1957). The East Bay Dragons, LA Defiant Ones and Outcast MC (founded 1969), are the oldest surviving all black motorcycle clubs requiring members to only ride American made motorcycles.
The Black Panthers and The East Bay Dragons Motorcycle Club were sometimes mistaken for each other by law enforcement. In Spring of 1967, East Bay Dragons member Joe Louis opened up Papa Joe’s Soul Food a few short blocks from the clubhouse. The Black Panthers’s earliest headquarters was just a few blocks from the Dragons’s clubhouse. Founders Huey Newton and Bobby Seale and chief of staff David Hilliard often came in and ate in Joe’s restaurant. The East Bay Dragons had already established a strong presence within communities in East Oakland. During the initial phases of the creation of the Black Panthers, Newton and Seale approached the East Bay Dragons for ideas and support.
When Huey P. Newton went to jail for the 1967 shootout between the Oakland cops and the Panthers, many members of the Dragons attended Free Huey rallies at De Fremery Park. A lot of the members attended weekend rallies to show off their bikes and to listen to speeches given by prominent Black Power movement leaders of the day. Due to the support both organizations had for each other, some of the Black Panthers eventually became members of the East Bay Dragons after the Black Panthers disbanded.
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East Bay Dragons
The East Bay Dragons MC is an all-black, all-male, all-Harley Davidson riding outlaw motorcycle club founded in Oakland, California, in 1959 by Tobie Gene Levingston, who died in July 2020.
Levingston founded the car club shortly after arriving to Oakland from Louisiana in 1955 with the intent of providing an outlet to keep his younger brother and friends off the rough and tumble streets of Oakland. The car club did not adopt the official name "Dragons Car Club" until 1958. The words "East Bay" were added by member Joe Louis, signifying their region of origin. 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. The turning point for the car club came following an incident at a local party at the Snow Building, a rented hall by the Oakland Zoo, adjacent to the Grass Valley neighborhood of the Oakland Hills. A fight broke out, and one of the members drove his car through the front door of the building onto the dance floor.
After constant harassment and profiling from the local police, Levingston had considered disbanding the car club. Long time friend Sonny Barger 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. After following the recommendation of Barger, The East Bay Dragons officially became a motorcycle club in 1959. In addition to trouble with the Oakland Police Department, at that time the idea of sustaining a car club became difficult. Many working class and working poor black families could not afford more than one car per household and Dragons members were no exception. Many club members could only have access to the family car either during the weekends or late at night.
Motorcycles were more practical because they were not depended on by an entire household. In 1959, and even well into the sixties, although there were two Harley Davidson dealerships in Oakland, no dealership in the Bay Area would sell bikes to black customers. All the original founding members had to buy used bikes. This was far more affordable as new bikes cost around $500 yet a used Harley Davidson could be bought for as little as $30.
Prior to the East Bay Dragons, the only other black outlaw motorcycle club in the Bay Area was the Fillmore based Frisco Rattlers MC.
Along with the Chosen Few MC and Los Angeles Defiant Ones MC, the East Bay Dragons are one of the oldest surviving predominantly black motorcycle clubs founded in California, (the LA Defiant Ones were founded two years earlier in 1957). The East Bay Dragons, LA Defiant Ones and Outcast MC (founded 1969), are the oldest surviving all black motorcycle clubs requiring members to only ride American made motorcycles.
The Black Panthers and The East Bay Dragons Motorcycle Club were sometimes mistaken for each other by law enforcement. In Spring of 1967, East Bay Dragons member Joe Louis opened up Papa Joe’s Soul Food a few short blocks from the clubhouse. The Black Panthers’s earliest headquarters was just a few blocks from the Dragons’s clubhouse. Founders Huey Newton and Bobby Seale and chief of staff David Hilliard often came in and ate in Joe’s restaurant. The East Bay Dragons had already established a strong presence within communities in East Oakland. During the initial phases of the creation of the Black Panthers, Newton and Seale approached the East Bay Dragons for ideas and support.
When Huey P. Newton went to jail for the 1967 shootout between the Oakland cops and the Panthers, many members of the Dragons attended Free Huey rallies at De Fremery Park. A lot of the members attended weekend rallies to show off their bikes and to listen to speeches given by prominent Black Power movement leaders of the day. Due to the support both organizations had for each other, some of the Black Panthers eventually became members of the East Bay Dragons after the Black Panthers disbanded.