Overlooked: Bessie Stringfield, Roaring Symbol of Freedom

Over the past few weeks we've been bringing you stories of women initially passed over by the obituary section of The New York Times. The Times's “Overlooked” project is giving obits to great women in history who never got them until now. And today, the story of a woman who roared across America on her Harley. Bessie Stringfield was a black woman with a passion for riding at a time many people didn’t want to see a black woman on a motorcycle. She was often the only woman among men, like when she served as a motorcycle dispatcher in World War II. Eventually she settled in Miami. “She was the motorcycle queen of Miami," says Nikita Stewart, the New York Times reporter who has written a new obituary for Stringfield, who died in 1993. "She was this incredible woman who, at a time when many women were at home or worked as domestics, she decided that she wanted to ride motorcycles. And she led motorcycle clubs and many times she was the only woman, and she just had a big impact on folks who would see her leading packs of men in parades.” Nikita Stewart explains how Bessie Stringfield became an important symbol in her day, and why she still makes such an impression today. Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear this segment. Don't have time to listen right now? Subscribe to our podcast via iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts to take this segment with you on the go. Want to comment on this story? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.