.East Bay Dragons ride to freedom

Every Saturday at 5pm in East Oakland, a thunderous rumble can be felt in one’s bones. This is the roar of the Dragons.

By 5:30pm, dozens of mighty Dragons cruise the streets, and the few, scattered grumbles swell into a cacophony of mechanical growls. It’s a song of freedom. With a fierce declaration of arrival, the East Bay Dragons pull up to the curb.

Members of the East Bay Dragons, the oldest all-Black Harley-Davidson motorcycle club in the Bay Area, are gearing up to celebrate the club’s 65th anniversary this November. As the milestone approaches, the crew recalls their history, celebrates their legacy and reflects on what it truly means to be a Dragon.

“I’m proud, and I want to see this club continue to flourish for as long as I live,” said 82-year-old Popa Joe, one of the organization’s founding members.

Popa Joe and his late brother, Tobie Gene Levingston, originally founded the East Bay Dragons as a car club in 1958. A year later, they switched to motorcycles, finding them more affordable to purchase and maintain. Aspiring to create an esteemed organization, they decided to make the club exclusively for Harley-Davidson riders. Since its founding in 1903 in Milwaukee, Harley-Davidson has earned a prestigious reputation for the iconic design and powerful performance of its motorcycles.

Unfortunately, many Harley-Davidson dealers at the time refused to sell to minorities, forcing new Dragons to purchase their bikes secondhand. This highlighted a troubling aspect of the vintage motorcycle industry, where Black riders faced both social and financial barriers to entry. Many motorcycle clubs, such as the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, enforced whites-only policies. Additionally, police harassment proved a routine challenge, as motorcycle-riding groups were already stigmatized, with all-Black clubs facing even greater scrutiny.

Given these challenges, a Black man riding a Harley-Davidson in the late ’50s was a rare sight. Po Hop, one of the original members, still vividly remembers the day he was inspired to join the East Bay Dragons. Driving down Eighth Street in West Oakland, he saw them on their highly coveted motorbikes.

“I saw four dragons on beautiful bikes, with shiny boots and stylish Levi pants,” Po Hop said. “Back in the day mostly white guys had that goin’ on, so I was just looking and admiring them.”

He followed them in his car and caught a glimpse of the emblem on the back of one rider’s jacket: “East Bay Dragons.” From that moment on, he wanted to join. Po Hop soon became a Dragon himself, a choice he considers one of the best he ever made. To him, the club is more than just a group of motorcycle enthusiasts; it’s a brotherhood that provided him a sense of direction. Witnessing the professional advancements of fellow Dragons inspired him to pursue a career as an auctioneer.

“[The club] kept me outta trouble,” Po Hop said.

East Bay Dragons President Rowdy Ro reflected on the experiences of the “OG Dragons” and the discrimination they faced in the segregated America of the 1950s and ’60s. He believes the situation has improved significantly since those days. Ro attributes much of this progress to the club’s role as pioneers, paving the way for greater acceptance of Black bikers.

“I’ve heard the stories of the guys who came before me who had issues riding while Black,” Rowdy Ro said. “They jumped through hurdles that allow us to ride freely in 2024.”

Like most members, Rowdy Ro joined through personal connections. At 15, he had a friend whose father was a Dragon, and the two boys frequently spent time at the clubhouse when not in school. Over the years, Ro continued to visit the club, especially after he began dating a girl who lived across the street from the clubhouse. He would drop by to see his girlfriend, and then remain in the area to spend time with the Dragons.

“It was a crazy coincidence,” Rowdy Ro said. “But somehow it made it so that I had even more of a reason to hang out in the area.”

Little did Rowdy Ro realize that the girl across the street would be his soulmate. They married 30 years ago and raised two daughters together. For a period of time, Rowdy Ro stepped away from the club to focus on his growing family, but the impact of the Dragons never left him. Nostalgic for the days spent hanging out with the club, he bought his first Harley and was pleasantly surprised to find that the older Dragons remembered him when he reintroduced himself. His first ride back with the Dragons was a trip from Oakland to Fresno.

“It was a blast,” Rowdy Ro recalled. “And after that I said, ‘You know what, I think imma become a member.’”

Like all Dragons, Rowdy Ro goes by his nickname. Born Romel Dright, he never uses his birth name within the brotherhood—it’s a tradition in motorcycle culture to adopt a distinctive alias for riding. While everyone called him Ro as a kid, his “crazy streak” earned him the “Rowdy” prefix.

“One day I was hanging out with a friend of mine, we were playing roughly and he said, ‘Man you hella rowdy,’” Rowdy Ro said. “And then I became Rowdy Ro. And when I got to the club that name kind of stuck.”

Rowdy Ro, named president of the East Bay Dragons in January, has now been with the club for 18 years.

As much as the Dragons serve as a pillar of support for one another, they also serve as a cornerstone of their community. Reflecting on their legacy, Rowdy Ro expresses the greatest pride in their commitment to giving back to Oakland. In addition to their youth bike giveaways, the Dragons have offered free health services, including blood pressure and heart rate checks, and diabetes testing. They also host free block parties in their garage on Valentine’s Day, President’s Day and Labor Day Weekend, fostering community spirit and bringing people together.

“We do a lot of good stuff, and people look forward to it,” Rowdy Ro said.

Operating in what’s colloquially known as “Deep East Oakland,” the East Bay Dragons are based in one of the city’s most economically disadvantaged zip codes. According to a 2022 report from the Oakland Fund for Innovation, 87% of residents are people of color and 56% of households earn less than $50,000—the highest proportion across all Oakland zip codes. In this poverty-stricken area, many struggle to cover expenses beyond basic necessities. Nevertheless, the Dragons have established a cherished tradition that brings joy and hope to the neighborhood each year.

Founded by Tobie Gene Levingston, the East Bay Dragons’ Secret Santa initiative involves adopting three families unable to afford Christmas gifts for their children. Parents submit their children’s wishlists, and the Dragons allocate up to $300 per family to fulfill these requests. One of Rowdy Ro’s fondest memories is riding his bike to the recipients’ homes on Christmas Day, delivering the gifts alongside his crew.

“You should see the smiles on those kids’ faces when they receive their gifts,” Rowdy Ro said. 

One might expect such an exemplary fraternity to attract a large number of new members. However, Rowdy Ro revealed that the club receives only about two to three membership requests each year. The criteria to become a Dragon are straightforward yet stringent: prospective members must be Black, own a Harley-Davidson and have a referral from someone already associated with the club. If they make a positive impression after attending weekly gatherings for three months, they officially become a “patch-wearing rookie.”

The president noted it was easier to become a Dragon in the 1960s when Harleys cost less to purchase and upkeep. Back then, a used bike like those the founding members rode could cost as little as $30. Today, a second-hand Harley can range from $6,000 to $21,000. Dragons are encouraged to keep their bikes in mint condition, as failure to do so can result in suspension of membership. Routine maintenance includes oil changes, tire replacements and regular servicing. A malfunctioning bike poses a safety risk during group rides, which are mandatory at least three times a year.

“Don’t nobody wanna ride with you if your tires are bald,” Rowdy Ro said, laughing.

Riding with the Dragons may not be the most accessible form of recreation, but the club wants prospective members to understand that joining means becoming part of a distinguished legacy of excellence.

When not cruising to far-off cities like Los Angeles or Atlanta, the Dragons relax in their clubhouse in East Oakland, which is open to both members and the public seven days a week. This cozy garage serves as their second home, featuring a space where members play dominoes, enjoy a meal from the kitchen and even wash their cars. The large brown sofa at the back provides a perfect spot for lively conversations and camaraderie.

Walking into the clubhouse on a Saturday feels like a scene from a movie depicting quintessential manhood: beer bottles clinking, hearty laughter bellowing, a football game on the mounted flat-screen TV and cigar smoke lingering in the air. The older Dragons sit in a half-circle of lawn chairs reminiscing about the Reagan era, while the younger members mingle on the sidewalk, engaging with each other and the local community.

Lil Black, one of the newer Dragons, has been with the club for just under five years. When not managing at a local nonprofit, he relishes spending time with his brothers at the clubhouse, sometimes bringing hot chicken wings for everyone to enjoy. Despite his relatively short time as a Dragon, he is grateful for the profound impact the experience has had on him. He will always cherish it as the fraternity that turned his life around.

“I went from the negative street life to the positive brotherhood of the club,” Lil Black said. “These guys changed my life.”

Lil Stingy became a Dragon in 2005. One recent Saturday evening he arrived at the clubhouse for their scheduled weekly meeting. Clad in a sleek moto jacket that fit like a second skin, he exuded rebellious confidence as he sipped his Heineken, his free hand tucked into his skinny blue jeans. For Lil Stingy, being a Dragon offers a liberating escape. Describing it as a taste of freedom, he seizes every opportunity to ride his motorcycle. To him, being a Dragon is about the exhilaration of motorcycling—where the world blurs by, fueling his untamed and adventurous spirit.

“Sometimes I really dread going to work,” he said. “But that feeling when I get on that bike? Suddenly going to work feels all right.”