Bikers Roll Into D.C. For King Memorial Fundraiser

WASHINGTON (AP) ―
More than 2,500 motorcyclists from around the country roared onto the National Mall on Sunday during a ride designed to raise thousands of dollars for the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.
The ride was dubbed the "Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Million Motorcyclists Motorcade (M5 Project)." Bikers arrived from starting points in Laurel, La Plata and Fort Washington in Maryland.

They also came from Woodbridge, Va., all finally meeting off Ohio Drive, across from the Tidal Basin site where the memorial is planned.
Participants in black leather vests with their biker aliases patched on their backs paraded on colorful bikes, ranging from souped up vintage to sleek modern models.

They either collected funds or contributed their own money to total $75,000 in donations, according to Howard "Dirty Dealer" Clifton Jr. of Waldorf, Md., whose group, Bikers With Heart Foundation Inc., helped organize the ride.
Many were moved by the timing of the event, which was just a few days after the 45th anniversary of the March on Washington, during which King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.

Thomas "T.C." Costley of Fort Dix, N.J., attended King's speech in 1963 and rolled into the benefit ride with about 500 bikers from the National Association of Buffalo Soldiers and Troopers Motorcycle Clubs, a group of mostly black bikers that he heads.
"The first thing that comes to mind is not people that we see here now, but the younger people that may not know what went on in the '60s," the 64-year-old Costley said. "When I don't see a young crowd out here I get concerned, because they're the ones we should be educating and let them know things weren't always the way they are now."
Memorial organizers say they have raised $100 million of the $120 million total needed for construction. They hope to complete the memorial in 2010.
It will feature a 28-foot "Stone of Hope" granite sculpture of King, a waterside plaza and celebrated quotes by the civil rights leader engraved in stone walls.
It would be the first major tribute to the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize winner outside Atlanta, where King was born in 1929.
Harry E. Johnson, president and CEO of the memorial foundation, said his group partnered with the motorcyclists after they approached him with the idea. He liked that they could help out while doing something they enjoy. But he did not join them.
"I do not have a motorcycle. I'm scared. I'm not bold enough to get on a motorcycle," he said. "I admire them. Every time I pass somebody on a bike, I admire their tenacity."
Besides Maryland and Virginia, bikers came from other states, including California, Illinois, Indiana, New York, Florida, North and South Carolina and Louisiana.
Karmel "Chuwee" Williams rode from Boston for the event on her black Honda bike with pink decals along with her group, the Boston Divaz.

She said coming down is a small way honoring the past and setting a good example for the next generation by breaking barriers.
"Oh my goodness. It's so important to me because Martin Luther King is my hero. If it wasn't for him me and my family wouldn't have the life we have," she said. "I think women bikers that are out here are positive role models to females of color to show there's nothing you can't do."