Black Bike Week
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Black Bike Week, also called Atlantic Beach Bikefest, Black Bikers Week, and The Black Pearl Cultural Heritage and Bike Festival, is an annual
motorcycle rally A motorcycle rally is a gathering of 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 Rally involve days of riding and an actual gathering only at t ...
in the
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the East Coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as the "Grand Strand” in the northeastern part of the state. Its ...
area, held on
Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...
weekend. Called a "one-of-a-kind event" and "an exhibitionist's paradise" by Jeffrey Gettleman, Black Bike Week is "all about riding, styling and profiling," in the words of Mayor Irene Armstrong of
Atlantic Beach, South Carolina Atlantic Beach is a town in Horry County, South Carolina, United States, part of the Grand Strand tourist region. The population was 334 at the 2010 census. Most of the land around the town is annexed into the city of North Myrtle Beach. Hist ...
. It is the largest
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
motorcycle rally in the US. Attendance has been variously reported as 350,000, 375,000, and as high as 400,000. It is considered the third or fourth largest motorcycle rally in the United States. Around 10–15 percent of motorcyclists in the US are women, while at major African American motorcycle rallies, such as Black Bike Week or the National Bikers Roundup, women make up close to half of participants. From 1940 until 2008, Myrtle Beach had also hosted a predominantly
white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
motorcycle rally, called
Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression along with i ...
Week, also called the spring Carolina Harley-Davidson Dealer's Association (CHDDA) Rally. The two rallies have usually run consecutively, and because of unequal city policies such as different traffic rules and greater policing during Black Bike Week, the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
(NAACP) and individual rally participants have charged, as well as sued, the city government and local businesses with
racial discrimination Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their Race (human categorization), race, ancestry, ethnicity, ethnic or national origin, and/or Human skin color, skin color and Hair, hair texture. Individuals ...
because of different treatment towards the black rally. In 2002 Black Bike week had 375,000 attendees, versus 200,000 for Harley-Davidson Week of the same year. The city of Myrtle Beach has used new ordinances to push the 2009 and 2010 motorcycle events, both black and white, out of the city, where they have been welcomed by other municipalities and businesses, and bikers still came in spite of the official efforts to discourage them. After the 2010 motorcycle events the
South Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of South Carolina is the highest court in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The court is composed of a chief justice and four associate justices.
overturned the Myrtle Beach city ordinance requiring all motorcyclists to wear
helmets A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the Human head, head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a Custodian helmet, policeman's helmet in the Unite ...
, and four other ordinances. "Black Bike Week" can also refer to a side event to the motorcycle rally
Daytona Beach Bike Week Daytona Beach Bike Week, also called Daytona Bike Week, is a motorcycle event and rally held annually in Daytona Beach, Florida. Events occur throughout Volusia County, including thDeLand Bike Rallyin Downtown DeLand on the first Saturday of Bi ...
at
Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach is a coastal Resort town, resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona ...
that happens two months earlier, in March. Like the South Carolina event, the Daytona rally also has its origins in racial segregation, when blacks created their own parallel event after being excluded from the main white festival.


Origin

During the 1960s and 1970s, many black motorcyclists visited
Atlantic Beach, South Carolina Atlantic Beach is a town in Horry County, South Carolina, United States, part of the Grand Strand tourist region. The population was 334 at the 2010 census. Most of the land around the town is annexed into the city of North Myrtle Beach. Hist ...
, some riding Harley-Davidsons, but also riding many Japanese Hondas, Kawasakis, Suzukis, and Yamahas, which, along with race, distinguished them as riders from the white event's participants who preferred the Harley-Davidsons. During the segregation era Atlantic Beach was the only beach in the
South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
where blacks were permitted. The Black Bike Week rally, originally called the Atlantic Beach Memorial Day BikeFest, was founded in Atlantic Beach by the Flaming Knight Riders motorcycle club in 1980. The first rally drew about 100 participants. Though one reason the Flaming Knight Riders worked with the City of Atlantic Beach to create the event was to make money for the town, it was not actually franchised by Atlantic Beach, and the city did not benefit financially; instead, bikers would, over the years, congregate more and more in Myrtle Beach rather than Atlantic Beach. In 1982, the Flaming Knight Riders were renamed the Carolina Knight Riders motorcycle club. By the 1990s the event had grown to include the entire greater Myrtle Beach, or
Grand Strand The Grand Strand is an arc of beach land on the Atlantic Ocean in South Carolina, United States, extending more than from Little River to Winyah Bay. It is located in Horry and Georgetown Counties on the northeastern South Carolina coast. Th ...
, area. In 2002, Atlantic Beach hired a public relations firm "to make the rest of the country aware of Atlantic Beach, its uniqueness as a predominantly black beach town and its potential as a vacation spot." This was part of a larger effort to promote the motorcycle rally by the Bike Week Task Force, a group of business owners and public officials from around the Grand Strand area. The predominantly white rally dates to May 1940, when a group of Harley-Davidson dealers created The Piedmont Harley-Davidson Dealers Association which became The Carolina Harley-Davidson Dealers Association when South Carolina dealers joined. The group's first event was a ride to Ocean Drive in Myrtle Beach, and included a
drag race Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, mos ...
and dirt track race and other festivities. In subsequent years the rally was held in Cherry Grove,
Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
and
Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, eighth-most populous city in the st ...
before returning to Myrtle Beach. The 2009 event was at
New Bern, North Carolina New Bern, formerly Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 31,291 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located at the confluence of the Neuse River, Neuse a ...
, and the 2010 rally was planned for the same location, two weeks before Memorial Day weekend.


Atlantic Beach Bikefest events

The town of Atlantic Beach hosted a street festival title The Atlantic Beach Bikefest, host by NDA Game Entertainment during the Memorial Day Black Bike Week weekend. Custom motorcycle builders, parts suppliers and motorcycle dealers provide a focal point for activities during Bikefest, displaying their wares and using motorcycle stunt shows or other entertainment to attract crowds.
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 ...
coming together and networking is a large part of the activity as well, described by some participants as, "an event to be recognized" where, "clubs came out to rep their colors," and, "mostly just to have fun." Past efforts to centrally organize Bikefest events have failed, with the activity remaining mostly spontaneous. Cruising and street parties flourish while people dance in the streets, hug, kiss, and hop on the back of strangers' bikes. Vendors sold food, T-shirts, mix CDs, and offered wheelie rides on customized motorcycles. Live entertainment includes nightly gospel and other music, and daily motorcycle stunt shows. Attendance at the 2010 Bikefest events held in Atlantic Beach appeared to be up over 2009, with greater variety in entertainment, merchandise and services offered. Atlantic Beach Town Manager William Booker said there are more families with children, and that, "We have a lot more going on in terms of vendors this year, including more people who are selling parts and upgrades for bikes, which is something we're really working to get more of. People are literally getting their bikes worked on today, which hasn't happened a lot in the past." On December 1, 2014, a task force approved a 23-mile loop to allow better traffic flow after trouble at the 2014 event. During certain hours on Memorial Day weekend 2015, Ocean Boulevard south of 29th Avenue North would be southbound only with traffic allowed to enter and exit the road only in specific locations, and the loop would continue on Kings Highway,
Harrelson Boulevard Harrelson Boulevard is a four-lane highway in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, named for Myrtle Beach's first mayor Dr. W. Leroy Harrelson Sr., who was elected to office in 1938. It starts at U.S. 17, and goes to Myrtle Beach International Airport ...
which becomes George Bishop Parkway, Waccamaw Boulevard which runs parallel to U.S. 501, Carolina Bays Parkway, Grissom Parkway, U.S. 17 Bypass and 29th Avenue North. Police said the loop worked, while some bikers had problems dealing with the confusion, and some felt unwelcome and called the measures "overreaction". The loop was used again in 2016, and the same route was planned for 2017. Some who felt mistreated want to boycott Myrtle Beach in 2017, while the City of Myrtle Beach responded that Bike Week is "not an organized event" and requires additional measures to make it safe. The
NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
called the loop "discriminatory" since it was only used for the one event and filed suit in federal court. Since then, for certain events, the only restriction has been making Ocean Boulevard southbound only south of 29th Avenue, with a limited number of locations to access Kings Highway, and with the northbound lane used only for emergency vehicles. The "chute" was used again in 2024, with nine entrances to Ocean Boulevard in five miles starting at 29th Avenue North, and no through traffic on certain streets: business owners and drivers did not like it. In 2025, "flushing" included 10 access points from Ocean Boulevard to Kings Highway. As of 2017 the event was called The Black Pearl Cultural Heritage and Bike Festival. For 2020, the Atlantic Beach Bikefest was postponed and finally cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. On March 2, 2021, it was announced that Atlantic Beach Bikefest had been cancelled for the second year in a row according to Town Manager, Benjamin Quattlebaum Jr. The decision to cancel the event was decided during the March 1, 2021 town council meeting, though there was the possibility of holding an event on either
Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...
or sometime later in the year depending on the effectiveness of vaccines. On March 7, 2022, the town council voted not to allow open carry during events. Town documents showed the festival would resume in May 2022.


Charges of racial bias

In 2003 a group of black motorcyclists, and the South Carolina chapter of the NAACP, sued the city of Myrtle Beach and some businesses there alleging discrimination. The city was accused of abusing traffic law enforcement and of excessive force by the police to harass black bikers. Many businesses closed their doors or cut back their hours during Black Bike Week, and 28 of them, including
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and
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were named in the suit. A
Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...
police detective who is also a motorcyclist told ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', "I've seen it myself. When the white bikers come to Myrtle Beach, the town rolls out the red carpet. When the black riders come, they roll it right up." City officials said that the much younger crowd, and nearly double attendance, of Black Bike Week justified the difference in the city's response to the two events. In a May 25, 2003 article in the ''New York Times'', Jeffrey Gettleman reported that a pattern had emerged of black social and party events growing ever larger in stature and then collapsing and quickly being shut down, particularly in the
Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...
. Examples given included
Freaknik Freaknik (; originally Freaknic) was an annual spring break festival in Atlanta, Georgia. It was initially attended by students enrolled at historically black colleges and universities in the Atlanta University Center. It began in 1983 as a sma ...
in
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, spring break in
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, and various festivals in
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, and
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. Myrtle Beach Mayor Mark McBride said in 2003 that the Black Bike Week crowds are "bigger and rowdier," although that year the white Harley rally had eight motorcycle traffic deaths, while the black Memorial Day rally had three motorcycle traffic deaths. In 2008, the NAACP issued a press release claiming success in concluding every federal discrimination lawsuit they had filed in Myrtle Beach for complaints during bike week events from 1999–2003, against the City of Myrtle Beach, and restaurants that included Damon's Oceanfront and Barefoot Landing, J. Edward's Great Ribs, and Greg Norman's Australian Grill, as well as the Yachtsman Resort Hotel. In a settlement with the city, the police department agreed to use the same traffic pattern on the city's main boulevard for Black Bike Week as they did for Harley Bike Week. From 2005 through 2008 the NAACP carried out "Operation Bike Week Justice" in which a complaint hotline was operated, and teams monitored police treatment of African Americans, and the reaction of local businesses, as well as monitoring traffic patterns. Friendly's Ice Cream Corporation and Myrtle Beach Friends Boulevard LLC was sued in 2008 by the NAACP for allegedly closing their indoor area and offering inferior outdoor service during Black Bike Weeks from 2000–2005. According to an NAACP lawsuit, The Yachtsman Resort Hotel had required Black Bike Week guests to sign a thirty-four rule guest contract, prepay for their hotel bill and show photo ID. The hotel agreed to settle the case, and in addition to a payment of $1.2 million, the hotel agreed to provide future discounts and make policy changes including yearly anti-discrimination training for employees. The settlement did not require the hotel to admit to discrimination. In 2010, the NAACP released a press release indicating that it would continue to monitor police and local businesses for possible discrimination. On February 27, 2018, the NAACP and others sued the city of Myrtle Beach claiming that their police officers treated African Americans differently and more harshly. On December 2, 2020, the NAACP suit went to trial. A jury ruled on December 10 that while the actions were "racially motivated", they would likely have been the same had race not been a factor.


Myrtle Beach ban

In 2008, the Myrtle Beach City Council announced it would no longer host motorcycle rallies, and approved a set of ordinances on September 23, 2008, that placed restrictions on motorcycle rallies. Fifteen laws were passed, restricting muffler noise, requiring helmets within city limits, limiting parking to two bikes per space, restricting loitering in parking lots, and more. In spite of this, Black Bike Week 2009's attendance was only reduced slightly. Vendors, hotels, biker groups and promoters attempted to schedule events for Black Bike Week 2010 despite the Myrtle Beach government's ban. In anticipation of the 2010 Harley Bike Week rally, a local
Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression along with i ...
dealership said events would still take place for their bike week event, but on a reduced schedule of only 5 days, May 11 to 16, while the website Myrtle Beach Bike Week, LLC says a full-length rally of May 7–16 would take place. Both sources say there would be no vendors inside the city limits of Myrtle Beach during the Harley Bike Week, and they both encouraged attendees to
boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...
the city and patronize those communities and businesses outside the city which did support Harley Bike Week. The Myrtle Beach Convention Center had ceased attempting to find a replacement for the Carolina Harley-Davidson Dealers Association, which had moved to Hard Rock Park. The reason for moving The Carolina Harley-Davidson Dealers Association event to New Bern in 2009 was that Myrtle Beach, "passed all these silly laws, they said we ruined their May, so we talked about it and decided to oblige them," said Gene Lummus, former president of the association. Another proposed rally, a
Harley Owners Group The Harley Owners Group (HOG) is a sponsored community marketing club, operated by Harley-Davidson for enthusiasts of that brand's motorcycles. The HOG is "the grandaddy of all community-building efforts," serving to promote not just a consume ...
convention, would take place May 18–22, 2010, at
North Myrtle Beach North Myrtle Beach is a city in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. It was created in 1968 from four existing municipalities, and is located about northeast of Myrtle Beach. It serves as one of the primary tourist destinations along t ...
, about up the coast from Myrtle Beach.


Helmet law struck down

On June 8, 2010, the
South Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of South Carolina is the highest court in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The court is composed of a chief justice and four associate justices.
overturned a Myrtle Beach city ordinance requiring all motorcyclists to wear
helmets A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the Human head, head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a Custodian helmet, policeman's helmet in the Unite ...
, on the grounds that the state law, requiring helmets only for riders under age 21, cannot be preempted by a city ordinance. The court ruled unanimously that in addition to the priority of state law, the local ordinance created undue confusion for motorists, and that the city itself had invalidated their helmet ordinance and some other ordinances also passed to suppress motorcycle rallies, in a subsequent amendment. The ruling took effect immediately, requiring that pending citations be dismissed, the records of those cited under the ordinance be expunged, and all fines collected be returned. The state Supreme Court had heard arguments on February 3, 2010, in a lawsuit by two groups of plaintiffs seeking to overturn the ordinance. One group of plaintiffs was made up of 49 motorcyclists who had been cited for not wearing helmets in Myrtle Beach. The second plaintiff was the organization Business Owners Organized to Save Tourism (BOOST) along with
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...
Thad Viers. BOOST's mission includes ending "the practice of ‘selective tourism,’ whereby government entities and/or organizations welcome some individual and group tourists but discourage others." Viers, a Republican representing Myrtle Beach, said, "There's certain things cities can do, and making up their own traffic laws is not one of them. I believe the law and the constitution are on our side." During the hearing in February, Justice Don Beatty said to Mike Battle, Myrtle Beach's lawyer, that, "I realize the issue is narrow here, but don’t pretend like we don’t know what’s going on. We read. We all know why the city," passed the ordinances, questioning whether the intent of the law was not to promote safety but rather to curtail motorcycle rallies. Justice Costa Pleicones told Viers that the city's interest in regulating noise, lewd behavior and nuisances was legitimate. In defense of the ordinance, the city's court filings argued six key points, among them that their helmet law was constitutional and did not contradict the state traffic code. Myrtle Beach's attorney Mike Battle also argued that because the state law was silent on whether adults must wear helmets, only addressing riders under 21, that cities had the freedom to make their own laws with respect to those over 21. Battle also argued that the benefits of the helmet law were greater than the inconvenience. The ruling prompted speculation that motorcyclists would return to Myrtle Beach in greater numbers. Some motorcycle rally participants immediately booked rooms for the next year, while others vowed never to return to Myrtle Beach, instead favoring businesses outside the city limits.


Myrtle Beach City Council relax noise ordinance

Months after Tom McGrath filed a suit on behalf of business owners and residents against the noise ordinance enacted by the city to push away motorcycle rallies, the Myrtle Beach city council increased the noise limit. Motor vehicles were limited to a level of 89 decibels while the engine is running at idle speed, but now motor vehicles may operate as high as 99 decibels which is more in alignment with national standards.


2014 shootings

During the 2014 Atlantic Beach Bikefest, three people were killed and one wounded in shootings at the Bermuda Sands Motel in Myrtle Beach about 15 miles from the rally. Police said that normally during the rally they see motorcycle crashes and minor offenses but that violence was unusual. After the incidents, South Carolina governor
Nikki Haley Nimarata Nikki Randhawa Haley (''née'' Randhawa; born January 20, 1972) is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 116th governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 and as the 29th U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from Ja ...
said on May 30, 2014, that with the damage to the area's reputation hurting tourism and efforts to attract other industries, "It is time for that Bikefest to come to an end, and that is the way that I am going to talk to the elected officials of
Atlantic Beach Atlantic Beach is the name of some places in the United States: *Atlantic Beach, Florida, a city *Atlantic Beach, New York, a village *Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, a town *Atlantic Beach, South Carolina, a town See also * Atlantic (disambiguat ...
." Haley, who was in
Conway Conway may refer to: Places United States * Conway, Arkansas * Conway County, Arkansas * Lake Conway, Arkansas * Conway, Florida * Conway, Iowa * Conway, Kansas * Conway, Louisiana * Conway, Massachusetts * Conway, Michigan * Conway Townshi ...
to talk about hurricane safety, emphasized that the incidents do not reflect the state as a whole. The previous day,
Atlantic Beach Atlantic Beach is the name of some places in the United States: *Atlantic Beach, Florida, a city *Atlantic Beach, New York, a village *Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, a town *Atlantic Beach, South Carolina, a town See also * Atlantic (disambiguat ...
Mayor Jake Evans said the event would not be cancelled; he pointed out that the vast majority of bikers are good people. Chief Warren Gall of the Myrtle Beach Police Department, however, believed the shooting was related to the rally. At a summit held September 22 and 23 and attended by local officials and police officers from different areas, Haley said that while she still opposed the event, "They can continue to have Bikefest if they follow our rules."


See also

*
Urban Beach Week Urban Beach Week is a hip-hop festival held in Miami's South Beach over the Memorial Day weekend since the 2000s. Urban Beach Week has been likened to a de facto continuation of Freaknik's cultural activities. The event has become known for its o ...
, also on the Memorial Day weekend.


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Operation Bike Week Justice
at
NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

Map of 23-mile loop for 2015 event
{{American motorcycle rallies Festivals in South Carolina African-American festivals Motorcycle rallies in the United States Post–civil rights era in African-American history Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Tourist attractions in Horry County, South Carolina May Recurring events established in 1980 1980 establishments in South Carolina