Black Slingshot Riders Are Building a New Kind of Freedom on Three Wheels
Across the U.S., Black riders are finding community, joy and purpose through the booming three-wheeled cycle culture, redefining what it means to ride free.
One of the many tell-tale signs of a good, warm day is the blasting of ’90s R&B music as a Black motorcyclist passes you by.
For many Black people throughout the country, three-wheeled motorcycles have become increasingly popular and have sparked creativity, entrepreneurship and community among their growing base of riders.
While several three-wheeled motorcycle companies exist, the Polaris Slingshot has become a fan favorite among Black riders. They feature a convertible-like feel, with an open-air roof but a closed body, unlike a traditional motorcycle.
“I come from a biker background. As I got older, my wife told me I needed to find something else, a little safer,” said Roderick King Sr., 58, an entrepreneur in Ohio. “In 2015, I saw a Slingshot for the first time. I got to drive one and I was bitten,” he said.
Historically, motorcycle and biking culture have been an aspect of Black liberation and resistance. Black motorcyclists like Bessie Stringfield, a self-taught Black woman rider in the 1930s, toured the country solo despite experiencing racism and misogyny from the Jim Crow South. Additionally, motorcycle clubs have provided a place for comradeship among Black men, such as the East Bay Dragons, founded in 1959, in Oakland. The club and others, such as the Rare Breed, founded in 1989, still have active local chapters.
King, also known as DJ Lyte N Rod, is a founder of Slang Gang, a community of over 300 dedicated riders based in 15 cities, in five states. The only requirements for entry are to own a Slingshot and adhere to a behavioral code of conduct, he said. On Facebook, nearly 2,000 people are a part of the national Slang Gang group that King created.
While many riders are 40 and older, there is a sprinkling of 20 and 30-year-olds who ride, he said. But for those who are older, it has been rewarding to see them enjoy their lives.
“Both of my parents worked and died. They never got to enjoy retirement,” King said. “I’m enjoying this [life]. I’m living the best years of my life right now. I’m working. I’m enjoying it. I’m having fun,” he said.
Within Slang Gang, each state has a head leader and uses Discord, a digital platform, to communicate and organize group rides, explained King. He said that members will often meet and ride together for hours, often enjoying the freedom of “wind therapy” together.
“We made a hand sign like our fingers are twinkling, and people ask us, ‘What does that mean?’” said King. “We said when it’s [SlingShot] driving down the street, it looks like it’s crawling down the road.”
For many riders, the appeal of the Slingshot varies—some enjoy the speed of being able to drive nearly 200 miles per hour, while others enjoy the creativity and freedom of customizing their “Sling” to whatever color or theme they want.
Joy Parker, a state social worker and rider in Ohio, is becoming increasingly popular for her Black Barbie Slingshot that is wrapped in hot pink and features Barbie logos throughout.
Parker and her husband, who also owns his own bike, said that they often attend Slingshot competitions throughout the country and have won titles for best lights, best wheels and best show, between the two of them.
“I really used Black Barbie as a tool to influence young African-American children,” said Parker. “From going to the Slingshot competitions, we see that it’s not just the Black children who come up to Black Barbie and want to sit in Black Barbie and take pictures, but children of all races, of all ethnicities that come to sit in Black Barbie,” she said.
At the competitions, she also gifts Barbie dolls to the children, hoping they continue to bring them joy, she said.
Other women, such as Porsche Taylor, have also formed their own communities, such as “Black Girls Ride,” an online magazine for women motorcycle riders, and have amassed over 50,000 followers on Instagram. Slingshot saw a 43% increase in female customers between 2019 and 2020, according to Forbes.
Parker highlights that she enjoys the collective acceptance that riders share as they connect over a similar hobby.
“We really go to these competitions, and people aren’t stuck on political events, or you being Black, or you being female. It’s just marveling at your bike, marveling at everything that you put in, all of your hard work, your creativity, and that’s what it’s about,” Parker said.
In Illinois, Monte Wilson, 55, a DJ and rental property manager, has been a leader in organizing Black Slingshot riders throughout Chicago and Indiana on Facebook, where nearly 1,000 have joined his online community.
“If I see that there’s a need to initiate something, I’ll go ahead and do what some others need or want,” said Wilson. “At one point, there wasn’t a Facebook group for African-Americans getting together riding Slingshots,” he said.
The connection to other Black riders has allowed him to host events like an all-white ride in tribute to Frankie Beverly, where dozens of riders came out.
“We try to stay together to look out for each other,” said Wilson. “If the weather is nice, I’m going to go out and enjoy it. That’s not the type of vehicle that you bring out just to go to the grocery store,” he said.
As the Slingshot community grows, King carries “little Hot Wheel Slingshots” to hand out to children, hoping to inspire Black youth toward potential entrepreneur pathways.
From his own experience, King knows that providing customizations is profitable, as he recalled making a significant income in 2020 from adding LED lights to Slingshots.
“We are losing our children; it’s so hard to reach them. And if they can see this machine, I’ll tell them, look, man, I’m making a living doing this now. There’s other things. I was in the streets, too when I was a kid,” he said. “Anything that can get their attention to positivity.”
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