After decades of being criminalized, lowriders get government's stamp of approval

"I got arrested 113 times for cruising; I got 56 tickets. We were always looked upon as criminals. Lowriding got its start in the Mexican American community during the hot rod era that came after World War II. Latino youth who could not buy newer cars would buy older cars and fix them up, often finding creative ways to lower their profile."

"Some people would put sandbags or cement bags in the trunk so that it could be lowered. Eventually, hydraulics lowered and raised the car or made them bounce. That made lowriders gain even more popularity in the 1970s, but discrimination against Latinos gave rise to local ordinances banning cruising, which was a popular way for Mexican American youth to show off their cars."

"Cities made it a crime to cruise past the same street more than once in a specified period of time, often citing possible violence or congested streets that would make it difficult for first responders to get to an emergency. Lowriders said they were harassed by police for simply driving their cars. In 1981, Hernandez formed the lowrider council to fight back against cruising bans."

Lowriding emerged in the Mexican American community after World War II when Latino youth customized older cars they could afford, using creative methods like sandbags and eventually hydraulics to lower vehicles. This vibrant cultural expression faced significant discrimination through local ordinances that criminalized cruising, with cities banning drivers from passing the same street multiple times. Lowriders experienced widespread police harassment despite their cars representing artistic achievement. In 1981, Roberto Hernandez founded the lowrider council to challenge these discriminatory practices, successfully suing San Francisco and overturning its cruising ban. California later passed legislation eliminating all local cruising bans statewide, validating lowriding as a legitimate cultural practice.

Read at ABC7 San Francisco