#jaylenoTobie Gene Levingston has been the president of the #EastBayDragons ever since he started the club in 1959! The East Bay Dragons colors are red and gold. Levingston built the East Bay Dragons Motorcycle Club on the values of community, family, and the tight bonds of brotherhood. A consultant by day, he helps manage the club’s finances. Explore East Bay Dragons' photos on Flickr. The club is turning 60 years this weekend at the same and only location it was founded in East Oakland. East Bay Dragons motorcycle club going to court. "I hope the Dragons ride on for years and years to come." The club is turning 60 years this weekend at the same and only location it was founded in East Oakland. Many club members could only have access to the family car either during the weekends or late at night. VALLEJO, CA — The East Bay Dragons, the first all-Black motorcycle club to exist in the Bay Area, has filed a federal lawsuit against Solano […] Read More. The club is turning 60 years this weekend at the same and only location it was founded in East Oakland in 1959. 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. East Bay Dragons motorcycle club member Jack “The Mack” Wilson poses for a photo at the East Bay Dragons Motorcycle Club in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019. pic.twitter.com/hDBvuGieca, — Jay Leno's Garage (@LenosGarage) July 1, 2020. Group shots Off work, he enjoys playing in bands, busking and karaoke. Now her father is insisting on community college. The East Bay Dragons MC is an all black, all male, all Harley Davidson riding motorcycle club founded in Oakland, California, in 1959 by founder and former president, Tobie Gene Levingston who died in July 2020. The faces of Marcus Garvey, Huey P. Newton, Malcolm X and others were being painted back to life. Unlike other African-American motorcycle clubs and drill teams of the late 1940s and 1950s which rode full-dressers, the East Bay Dragons rode choppers. DMX mourned during memorial service at Barclays Center, Longtime Cal swim coach Thornton, who produced Olympians, dies at 87, Terrence Clarke killed in L.A. car crash; Kentucky guard had entered NBA draft, Respect the patch”: How Oakland’s oldest Black motorcycle club survived nearly 60 years, California man bitten while using barbecue tongs to remove rattlesnake, Real estate: Prologis buys former Hilltop Mall site in Richmond, Family divisions, explosive allegations engulf Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation, Plan to build housing in Walnut Creek business park stirs traffic congestion fears, Alleged ‘Broad Day Killers’ Antioch gang member gets federal prison in gun case, Pleasanton man arrested for allegedly firing 100 rifle rounds inside his house. Founders Huey Newton and Bobby Sealeand chief of staff David Hilliard often came in and ate in Joe’s restaurant. The East Bay Dragons formed in 1959, during a time when the image of a black man riding a motorcycle could provoke a strong reaction. Kurt Sutter has stated that the inspiration for the fictional motorcycle club The Grim Bastards, portrayed by an authentic Black American MC called 1DOWNMC; featured in the television show Sons of Anarchy was loosely based on the East Bay Dragons and their relationship with the Hells Angels that surpassed racial barriers during the 1960s and 1970s. The East Bay Dragons Motorcycle Club have gunned their Harleys through the mean streets of Oakland, California since the 1950s. During the Christmas season, they sponsor a toy drive and deliver toys to Oakland children on their bikes, while dressing up as Santa Claus. May he rest – and ride – in peace. He has worked as an online coordinator and, before that, a copy editor and page designer for Bay Area-based newspapers and magazines. Rasheed is a member of the East Bay Dragons. Long time friend Sonny Barger[4] 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. [5], Prior to the East Bay Dragons, the only other black outlaw motorcycle club in the Bay Area was the now defunct Fillmore based Frisco Rattlers.[6][7]. The words "East Bay" were added by member Joe Louis, signifying their region of origin. During the initial phases of the creation of the Black Panthers, Newton and Seale approached the East Bay Dragons for ideas and support.[10]. [18], The One Percenter Encyclopedia: The World of Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs from Abyss Ghosts to Zombies Elite. Nelson is cousin of cofounder and EBD President Tobie Livingston. It was around 1960. Oakland, CA 94621 Clubhouse: (510) 638-9859 Tug Boat: (510) 816-7474 Ali: (510) 681-5474 Founded by Tobie Gene Levingston (current president) in 1959, the dragons were the first all-black motorcycle club in the Bay Area and one of the first in the country. East Bay Dragons has uploaded 50 photos to Flickr. Born June 30, 1934, in Lillie, Louisiana, Levingston was one of 10 children raised by sharecropper parents who moved to the Bay Area in the early 1950s, settling in East Oakland’s Brookfield Village neighborhood. Jones has been a member for 40 years and the club is turning 60 years this weekend at the same and only location it was founded in East Oakland. Contact Us 8731 International Blvd. The club is turning 60 this weekend at the same and only location it was founded in East Oakland in 1959. A fight broke out, and one of the members drove his car through the front door of the building onto the dance floor.[3]. Over 20 years later, we still call Oakland our home and regularly open our clubhouse to host fight parties and other refined social events. Friends and family members are planning a viewing 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 24 at the East Bay Dragons clubhouse, 8731 International Blvd., in Oakland, and outdoor funeral services at 10 a.m. July 25, at Acts Full Gospel Church, 1034 66th Ave., in Oakland. These drill teams performed group routines consisting of stunts and challenging maneuvers weaving in and out of cones and between other motorcyclists. The make of the bike was never important, it only mattered that you could keep up. 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. They are a mixed-race motorcycle club, however have a strong black presence. Friends and family members are planning a viewing 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 24 at the East Bay Dragons clubhouse, 8731 International Blvd., in Oakland, and outdoor funeral services at … East Bay Dragons President Tobie Gene Levingston at the group’s clubhouse in East Oakland. East Bay Dragons-Hells Angels and incident in Iowa between clubs #BIKERNEWS- A popular Murrells Inlet biker bar will be allowed to hold a fall pre-bike week rally this weekend. 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. The Black Panthers earliest headquarters was just a few blocks from the Dragons clubhouse. The car club did not adopt the official name "Dragons Car Club" until 1958. Over more than six decades as club president, Levingston rode alongside the club’s members and rubbed shoulders with famous figures like the Hells Angels’ Sonny Barger and members of the Black Panthers. Oakland in the 1990s. Motorcycles were more practical because they were not depended on by an entire household. pic.twitter.com/I8ipHRrPNb, — Libby Schaaf (@LibbySchaaf) July 9, 2020. The club is turning 60 years this weekend at the same and only location it was founded in East Oakland in 1959. The Black Panthers earliest headquarters was just a few blocks from the Dragons clubhouse. “Mr. East Bay Dragons motorcycle club founder dies. What’s next? High-speed fiber-optic internet coming to Pittsburg, San Jose shooting at ‘The Grad’ luxury apartments becomes city’s 14th homicide, Senior Living: The startling inequality gap that emerges after age 65. East bay dragons president dance. George Kelly is a breaking news reporter for the Bay Area News Group. # jayleno The # EastBayDragons have earned their place history. The Black Panthers earliest headquarters was just a few blocks from the Dragons clubhouse. The East Bay Dragons have a record of service to the community and have supported many local charitable organizations, including riding for breast cancer, AIDS awareness and violence awareness. The East Bay Rats formed in 1994 with a bunch of bikes mostly zip-tied and safety-wired together. 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. In Spring of 1967, East Bay Dragons member Joe Louis opened up Papa Joe’s Soul Food a few short blocks from the clubhouse. Check out the rest of the story here: https://t.co/6pHvA0Hemp, And watch #JayLenosGarage TONIGHT 10p ET. Along with the Chosen Few MC and Los Angeles Defiant Ones MC,[8] 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). 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