Buffalo Soldiers MC
 |
|
| Founded | 1993 or 1994 |
|---|---|
| Location | Chicago, Illinois |
| Founder | Ken 'Dream Maker' Thomas |
| Type | 501 (c) 3 |
| Purpose | Service club and motorcycle club |
| Membership | 100 chapters and 2,500 members |
| Website | www |
| Abbreviation | NABSTMC |
The Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club (NABSMC) is a Black (African-American) motorcycle club in the United States, named for the historic African-American United States Army regiments known as Buffalo Soldiers, seen in their patch.[1][2][3][4] It is one of the biggest Black motorcycles clubs in the USA and the biggest African American motorcycle club in Chicago, with 97 chapters as of 2012,[5] with over 2000 members across the USA.[6][7]
Contents
History
The first club chapter was founded by Ken Thomas, a Chicago policeman, in 1993[8][9] or 1994.[2]
The National Association of Buffalo Soldiers/Troopers Motorcycle Clubs (NABSTMC) was formed c. 1999.[2]
Activities
Chapters participate in many charitable activities across the United States, including providing "Soldiers' Thanksgiving" Thanksgiving turkeys, hams and other necessities for poor families in Tacoma, Washington;[10] fundraising for victims of the 2010 Tennessee floods, highway adoption and adopting a nursing home for monthly visits in Clarksville, Tennessee;[11] and mentoring jail inmates in Alexandria, Virginia.[12] They also have a historical educational program concerning the contributions made by their namesake Buffalo Soldiers of the U.S. Army.[13]
The group is enrolled as part of an official motorcycle safety mentorship program in cooperation with the United States Army.[14]
Rallies
The group also is an organizer of the National Bikers Roundup, a national motorcycle rally that draws tens of thousands of participants who spend millions of dollars at the rally (estimated $10 million in 2004).[3]
The annual Buffalo Thunder Rally from Maryland suburbs to the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington D.C. started in 2002[8] or 2004.[15] Some riders stay to participate in the subsequent Rolling Thunder Run motorcycle rally.[5] About 1,500 riders participated in 2013.[15]
Membership and organization
An academic paper on the organization and its context in African-American culture described it as a "unique recreational, service, and educational organization".[4]
The national headquarters official website states "we are not a 1% club and we claim no territory."[9] Membership requires possession of a 750 cc or greater displacement motorcycle from any manufacturer, a valid drivers license, and insurance; anyone with a felony conviction is barred from membership.[8][16]
Membership includes African-American men and women,[17] mostly active-duty and retired military, law enforcement and professionals.[5][8] Identification as member of a particular race is not a membership requirement.[16]
The national organization is composed of several regional/geographic "frontiers" in the United States: Northeast, Southeast, Great Lakes, Central, and Western.[18] Within each frontier, there are local chapters; the first chapter in a state is designated the "mother chapter" with certain responsibilities for establishing new chapters.[19] A member who relocates to an "open state", or certain other conditions, is a "member-at-large", who is affiliated with the national group but not any local chapter.[19]
Notes
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- Books
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- Media
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- Other
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External links
- ↑ Hayes 2010.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Hayes 2011.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Capital Times 2004.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bowers 2006.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Harris 2012.
- ↑ Ebony, Oct 2007. P.106
- ↑ Buffalo Soldier MC, NAACP Today Show, 2010
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Economist 2014.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Nagle 2013.
- ↑ Clarksville Online 2010.
- ↑ Alexandria News 2014.
- ↑ Metzger 2014.
- ↑ United States Army 2014.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Fenston 2013.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Kessel 2012.
- ↑ Gay 2007.
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