For Lowriders in San Francisco, It’s Not Just a Stamp — It’s Respect at the Federal Level

On Saturday morning, lowrider cars in a spectrum of colors cruised into the parking lot of the USPS processing center in Hunters Point, their glistening chrome finish and intricate airbrushings drawing attention from attendees.

This was no ordinary lowrider show, however. The gathering marked the United States Postal Service’s unveiling of a new set of five lowrider stamps. Organized in part by the San Francisco Lowrider Council, the event honored the history of lowriding and the recognition, at the federal level, of a culture long stereotyped and stigmatized.

“It represents showing us respect,” council founder Roberto Hernández told KQED. “It’s atoning for what’s been done to us, it’s recognizing that this is an art form, and it’s part of the Chicano Latino culture.”

Lines to purchase the stamps wrapped around the stage as USPS officials, community leaders and members of the Lowrider Council delivered speeches. Woven into the festivities were performances from Danza Azteca Xitlalli-Xolotl and Mariachi San Francisco.

Hernández, a Mission District native, founded the San Francisco Lowrider Council in 1981. For the next four decades, he advocated for the community and challenged restrictions against lowriding and cruising, which were heavily regulated across California. In 2023, those statewide regulations were finally eased, allowing cruising without fear of being pulled over, ticketed or arrested.

During the late 1970s and early ’80s, Hernández said, he endured over 100 arrests or violent encounters with San Francisco law enforcement. He eventually filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city and police department — and won.

The Bay Area community that formed around lowriding is what made the fight worthwhile, Hernández said.

“From the very beginning, there were African Americans cruising with us, Filipinos, Samoans, every kind of Latino,” he said. “So that melting pot has been very special here in the Bay. Just growing up here in the Mission District, I got fed by every culture … in my tummy, but also, my heart, soul, and spirit got fed. I was exposed to all these cultures.”

While Saturday’s event celebrated a tradition of customized automobiles, Hernández says that recognition represents something larger than cars. Especially now, when immigration policies and ICE continue to target Mexican and Chicano communities.

“The federal government is at war with our people, criminalizing our people, deporting our people, illegally detaining people,” Hernández said, adding that it’s important for his community to keep mobilizing and organizing.

“But today,” he said, “we’ll take the celebration.”