Bessie Stringfield: Tales of the Talented Tenth, no. 2 [Paperback]

Winner:
Kirkus Reviews, Best Historical Teen Book of 2016

Imagine a five-foot-two-inch-tall woman riding a Harley eight times across the continental United States. Now imagine she is black and is journeying across the country in the pre-Civil Rights era of the 1930s and ’40s. That is the amazing true story of Bessie Stringfield, the woman known today as The Motorcycle Queen of Miami and the first black woman to be inducted into the American Motorcyclist Association Hall of Fame and the Harley Davidson Hall of Fame. Stringfield was a pioneer in motorcycling during her lifetime; she rode as a civilian courier for the US military and founded the Iron Horse Motorcycle Club in Miami, all while confronting and overcoming Jim Crow in every ride.

"Joel Christian Gill is a modern day graphic griot. His mastery of visual storytelling coupled with his tireless research make him one of the most important artist/scholars working today." —John Jennings, Eisner-nominated comics scholar and award-winning graphic novelist

"Bessie Stringfield's story is a call to adventure. Joel Christian Gill's gorgeous artwork depicts her dynamic heroics throughout America's lush and beautiful landscapes." —Box Brown,New York Timesbest-selling artist,Andre the Giant: Life and Legend

"Gill delivers the story of her diasporic roots and struggle from childhood to adulthood with artistic brilliance and compelling wit. Like Stringfield, Gill asserts himself as a messenger; he is bringing together multiple generations of readers who now have an opportunity to read and view Blackness and Black historical figures anew." —Deborah Elizabeth Whaley, author,Black Women in Sequence: Re-inking Comics, Graphic Novels, and Anime

"A great story that should be heard by all, starting with our youngest generations." —J.A. Micheline, contributor,lc1