The Hells Angels had members of color

The Hells Angel Motorcycle Club (referred to as HAMC going forward) and the Mongols Motorcycle Club. Two of the most notorious MC’s in the culture. These two powerhouses have clashed time and time again over the past fifty years, leading to two major biker wars, and many bodies being put underground.

Many who are involved in Motorcycle Club culture know what caused this clash of titans. But an interesting fact that most are unaware of, is how there was a possibility that this monumental feud could have been avoided.

For those of you reading this who are unaware of the history of these two clubs, allow me to give a brief overview for you.

The HAMC was founded on March 17th, 1948, in San Bernardino (Berdoo) California, by World War 2 veterans (fighter pilots and motorcyclists specifically) who wished to feel the rush they once felt during war time, a feeling civilians couldn’t possibly understand. They found solace in each other while riding motorcycles, and so they adopted the club Hells Angels after the air force regiment of the same name.

Nearly 80 years later, the HAMC has grown into the dominate 1% Motorcycle Club in the world, with nearly 600 chapters across the globe at the time of this writing.

The Mongols MC was founded in Montebello, California on December 5th, 1969. They too were founded by war veterans, although these were Vietnam vets. The Mongols, despite numerous clashes with much larger clubs, has grown into a worldwide club as well, however none have matched the HAMC’s numbers or influence.

Many have asked why the founding members of the Mongols didn’t ask to join the HAMC. And the answer to this question is they actually did. However the Mongols were founded by mainly Hispanic men, and at the time the HAMC did not allow members of color into the club.

Thus began what is considered by some the longest MC feud in history, which led to beatings, stabbings, shootouts, and bombings.

Because of this rejection based on race, many have labeled the HAMC as a racist group, which others, such as myself, have found to be an odd label, given the Angels have chapters in Japan, Thailand, Egypt, and Turkey to name a few. And in Europe, the HAMC have members of color in the present day. So why wouldn’t they allow the founding members of the Mongols to join?

The answer comes from the mouth of one George Christie, who I have spoken about in my previous story of when the Angels ran the Olympic torch.

Mr. Christie stated in the fifties and early sixties, the HAMC in California did indeed have members of color. There were a couple of black members in Berdoo, one in Oakland, and even a Chinese member at one point.

So what changed? Are the Hells Angels a racist group? No. The actual answer is quite simple: Prison.

By the 1960’s the indictments and arrests of the HAMC were becoming more and more frequent as they clashed with other MC’s, street gangs, etc. Which meant a lot of members ended up serving lengthy prison sentences.

This is where things turned sour.

Once inside a prison, you must play by prison gang rules. Which means sticking with your race. The white members of the HAMC would have to stay with the whites, and the black members would go with the blacks.

Anyone who has seen or read prison stories knows the race gangs often clash, which would lead to much tension between the members of the HAMC who were put inside. Allow me to explain with an example.

Let’s say two Angels are locked up for an offence. One is named Jimmy who is white, and the other is Bill, who is black. While they may be brothers and best of friends, they must now stick with their respective race gang. This would put tension on them, but nothing they couldn’t handle, however, the longer they are in prison for, the more friendships they build.

So now a fight breaks out between Bill’s friends and Jimmy’s friends. Jimmy now has to stand up for his buddies and go after Bill’s friends, and vice versa.

Because of these clashes between the race gangs, once Jimmy and Bill are out of prison, they would now be at complete odds and would begin to resent each other, regardless of the fact they wear the same patch. These odds would then spill out into the club and drive a wedge between the membership.

Thus the HAMC adopted the policy to only have white members in the states (at the time at least) to nullify this issue between brothers who were put inside for lengthy sentences. Not because they were racist, but rather to avoid further, unnecessary conflict, especially between it’s own membership.

What’s interesting about this, is if the membership somehow found a way to play by prison rules, but find a way to stay out of each others way, having different races in the club wouldn’t have been an issue and the conflict with the Mongols could have been avoided.

But what’s more interesting, is if the HAMC could keep the understanding up with the prison gangs, they most likely would’ve let the founding Mongols into the club, meaning the Mongols would most likely never have existed, and they would have avoided two wars at the same time.

However, as powerful as the Angels are, prison rules are prison rules, and no one can change that. So to answer the initial question; could the feud with the Mongols MC have been avoided? Ideally, yes, but in reality, no.

Could the HAMC have allowed different races into the club despite this? Of course, however, as I stated it would only draw more conflict within the clubs membership and would’ve torn them apart from the inside out.

Thank you for taking the time to read this story/history lesson. Most of this information was taken from George Christie. I highly recommend reading his books and listening to his podcast “Speak Of The Devil” if you’re interested in learning more about Mr. Christie and the Hells Angels. I also recommend listening to any interview his given outside of his podcast as he has many interesting stories about the HAMC and it’s development throughout the years.