SAN FRANCISCO, CA — From San Francisco’s streets to mailboxes everywhere, the iconic lowrider has been memorialized by the United States Postal Service.
The stamp was made in partnership with the San Francisco Lowrider Council, an advocacy group founded by Roberto Hernández in the early 1980s that promotes and preserves lowrider culture.
“This isn’t just about a stamp; it’s about respect,” Hernández said in a statement. “Seeing our culture honored by the USPS validates the history, craftsmanship, and community pride that has defined the Mission District and Latino neighborhoods across the country for generations.”
For decades, Hernández fought to end the stigma and criminalization associated with the lowriders, which were rooted in 1940s working-class Chicano culture around the West Coast.
Hernández previously told Patch about his experience cruising lowriders around San Francisco’s Mission District.
Police would racially profile anyone in a lowrider, according to Hernández, who said he was arrested dozens of times while out cruising. Hernandez says he and other lowrider enthusiasts eventually filed a federal lawsuit against the San Francisco Police Department to challenge a ban on cruising and won.
We have been the pioneers in the civil rights movement for lowriders not only in the state, but the country,” Hernández said. “
There, USPS and community leaders will hold a formal ceremony. There will also be a car show, vendors and music.
“A lowrider is a masterpiece of engineering and artistry, a rolling canvas of art,” Gary Barksdale, the Postal Service’s chief postal inspector, who served as the dedicating official, said in a statement. “The lowrider culture is about creating a space to celebrate pride, a sense of belonging and building a community that is always there for each other.”
The free event on Saturday will take place at the USPS facility in San Francisco (1300 Evans Ave, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
The new lowrider stamps can be purchased online.