Biker Racists

For anyone looking for clear evidence of the implicit racial biases and obvious disparities in the perception of the Black community when compared to their white counterparts, they hardly need to look any further than two motorcycle festivals that take over South Carolina’s Myrtle Beach every summer .Gene Demby, Lead Blogger for npr.org, authored, “2 Biker Rallies: One White, One Black-One ‘Badass’, The Other, Just ‘Bad”, is an article about how the media portrays groups of bikers different. Demby argues, that there is a considerable difference between how white bikers and black bikers portrayed thru the media. I agree with Demby, for instance, with what took place in Waco, Texas, where nine people were killed in a violent biker gang shootout.

For more than three decades, the black biker rally has followed the predominantly white Harley Week, two segregated motorcycle rallies along South Carolina’s conservative coast. In recent years Black Bike Week has also been the subject of negative media attention, which in turn cast a glaring spotlight on the black and white subcultures of American bikers. Mrytle Beach locals, which consist of the locals,70 percent of whom are white, when it comes to the bike week the view of each bike week seems very different. A study conducted by Jason Eastman, a sociologist at Coastal Carolina University, to demonstrate the views of the locals. During Black week of 2009, 8600 comments were given by online readers. These comments were in reference to the new rules the city that was put in places during each bike week. During black bikers was seen in a typical post as “predominantly thugs, thieves and low life criminals”, while white bikers was perceived as “exemplars of American Invidualsim”. I have been to both, and I agree with Eastman. Demby’s position stands as that whereas, a white bikers would commit a crime, they would be forgiving. However, if a black biker committed the same offense, there would be no leniency

There is a difference between what is known as “motorcycle enthusiast” and what is known as outlaw biker gangs, 99 percent of bikers are not involved in unlawful conduct. The one per centers, also known as “OMGs” by law enforcement, see gangs such as “Hells Angels” as domestic terrorist. Outlaw Gangs are responsible for organized crime, drugs, prostitution, and live as their own society, abide by their own