The National Bikers Roundup is the largest

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...

motorcycle rally A motorcycle rally is a gathering of motorcycling, motorcycle enthusiasts. Rallies can be large or small, and one-time or recurring. Some rallies are ride-in events, whereas some like the Iron Butt Association#Iron Butt Rally, Iron Butt Rally invo ...

in the United States and is organized by a group of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

motorcycle clubs A motorcycle club is a group of individuals whose primary interest and activities involve motorcycles. A motorcycle group can range as clubbed groups of different bikes or bikers who own same model of vehicle like the Harley Owners Group. Ther ...

. Its location changes every year but every decade it returns to its founding city of

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. More than 1,000 motorcycle clubs attend the event and black women make up close to half of participants.

History

First organized in 1977 by Dallas Thibodeaux and Rozell Nunn, Jnr attracting 49 riders, it has since grown to a five-day event, with up to 30,000 participants, who enjoy camping, exhibition, parades, stunt shows, entertainment and a host of other motorcycle-related experiences including drag racing and a "biggest gut contest".Black Bikers:the rides and the history. Samuels, Adrienne P. Samuels. Ebony, Volumes 62-63, Johnson Pub. Company Oct 2007 The event serves to unite the Black motorcycle community and promote camaraderie. Starting from 1998, each year participants donate food and money to support local food paid programmes. By 2000, donations had reached 16,000 tonnes and $9,000. Due to the history of

racial segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...

in the USA, the event was largely ignored by the media and motorcycle industry for most of its history but is now supported by manufacturers such as

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

and

Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depressi ...

, which was the first major company to attend, and is both family friendly and open to all ethnicities.

Media coverage

The ''

Tulsa World The ''Tulsa World'' is the daily newspaper for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. Tulsa World Media Company is part of Lee Enterprises. The new owners announced in January 202 ...

'' featured coverage of the 2014 Rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, held July 30 to August 3.

References

External links

* August events African-American festivals Recurring events established in 1977 1977 establishments in the United States {{Camping-stub