For Lowriders in San Francisco, It’s Not Just a Stamp — It’s Respect at the Federal Level | KQED

During the late 1970s and early ’80s, Hernández said, he endured over 100 arrests or violent encounters with San Francisco law enforcement. He eventually filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city and police department — and won.

The Bay Area community that formed around lowriding is what made the fight worthwhile, Hernández said.

“From the very beginning, there were African Americans cruising with us, Filipinos, Samoans, every kind of Latino,” he said. “So that melting pot has been very special here in the Bay. Just growing up here in the Mission District, I got fed by every culture … in my tummy, but also, my heart, soul, and spirit got fed. I was exposed to all these cultures.”

While Saturday’s event celebrated a tradition of customized automobiles, Hernández says that recognition represents something larger than cars. Especially now, when immigration policies and ICE continue to target Mexican and Chicano communities.

“The federal government is at war with our people, criminalizing our people, deporting our people, illegally detaining people,” Hernández said, adding that it’s important for his community to keep mobilizing and organizing.

“But today,” he said, “we’ll take the celebration.”