SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The Black Lowrider Association is showcasing its cars at the San Diego Automotive Museum during Black History Month.
Mark Forte, president of the Black Lowriders Association, asked the museum if they could showcase their collection of cars but, more importantly, tell stories of the black community's lowrider culture and rich history from southeast San Diego.
"Growing up, I remember the locations: Idle Square, Memorial Park, Oceanview Park. Our rich history was brought forward from brothers like Ray Smith and Leroy Brown, the Robert Baileys, the Keith Dunns, the Carl Overstreet. That’s where this came from," Forte said. "We stand on the legs of those brothers before us..."
As of Sunday, one member's 1968 Chevy Impala called 'Eightballin' was on display inside the museum. Forte said it's just one example that represents the black low-riding community's style of cars.
"Clean paint jobs, clean wheels, wire wheels, clean, chrome wheels, Supremes," Forte said. "The main thing for low riding in southeast San Diego was you had to have some hydraulics. It's about riding fluid, so reverb color bars, clean, paint, yellow, rag top, or a moon roof, and being able to perform. The car had to be built for performance."
With the cruising ordinance AB 436 being recently overturned in California - this new showcase comes at a significant time to merge Black History Month and celebrate low-riding history in the state where it all began.
"Part of the reason it’s so cool is because it’s kind of a symbol of the oppression that the cultures that were doing the low riding stuff and what they were experiencing in terms of policing," said Maria Deleon, curator at the San Diego Automotive Museum. "So it’s like a big celebration, almost to have the ability to just talk about it and present it as something that people are still doing that they’re allowed to do."
The San Diego Automotive Museum has already started planning with the Black Lowrider Association to bring a larger exhibit this June to celebrate Juneteenth.
