Bessie Stringfield

November 14, 2016
The second volume of Gill’s history series about little-known heroes of black history has its occasional hammy moments. But these are quibbles only; this quick-paced biography of Bessie Stringfield, the so-called “Motorcycle Queen of Miami,” is a pocketful of cheerful, hard-fought optimism. Abandoned by her father as a child and raised by nuns, Stringfield became obsessed with motorcycles at an early age. Bucking the odds against a black woman, she crisscrossed the country eight times in the pre-WWI years, just for the adventure. Stringfield, narrating the story from old age, describes everything as a gas, even outrunning the KKK. Later on, she turns to circus stunt work, billed as the “Negro Motorcycle Queen,” and joins the army during WWII as a courier. Some of Gill’s more imaginative flairs, like representing Jim Crow laws as actual crows, don’t quite work. But the whipcrack speed of the narrative and Stringfield’s no-nonsense bravery are still a bracing tonic. (Oct.)
★

Being the first woman to ride a motorcycle across the United States did not satisfy Bessie Stringfield; she did it eight times!In a frame narrative to this fascinating biographical tale, a young black woman interviews the elderly Stringfield about her life. Around 1916, Bessie's father moves his family from Jamaica to Boston, but when he learns of his wife's terminal illness, he abandons them both. Days later, a white neighbor takes her to an orphanage with kind nuns (the only minor characters from her childhood whose faces readers see). Eventually, the nice white woman who adopts Bessie gives the teen a motorcycle for her birthday--a vehicle Bessie has been dreaming of. Over the years, Bessie travels constantly, marries six times, serves as a civilian motorcycle courier for the military during World War II, becomes a stunt performer in traveling circuses, and earns a nursing degree. Gill uses the graphic format to depict racism creatively and poignantly. He portrays "Old Jim Crow" as flocks of human-sized crows, and the KKK crows wear white sheets (with their beaks sticking through their hoods) as they stage a Georgia cross-burning. When characters call Bessie a racial slur, Gill inserts a rebus into the speech bubble, depicting the head of a stereotypical minstrel figure with nappy hair, dark skin, and huge lips, allowing readers to infer the actual language. Such iconic representations make strong statements that need no words. An incredible true story that has as much power as Bessie and the motorcycles she rode. (bibliography) (Graphic biography. 10 & up) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 15, 2016

Each year, the American Motorcycle Association presents the Bessie Stringfield Memorial Award for "superior achievement by a female motorcyclist." The Jamaican-born Stringfield (1911-93) led a remarkable life as adventurer, stunt performer, U.S. Army courier, cross-country rider, and winning racer. Gill's account appears in colorful, kid-friendly art. (The talented tenth is a term referring to black leaders, publicized in an essay by W.E.B. Dubois.) Tweens and teens.

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