25 at 250: Lowriders and the flight suit that opened the skies for Black pilots

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4.1 • 953 Ratings

🗓️ 3 April 2026

⏱️ 16 minutes

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Summary

Lowriders have long turned city streets into moving works of art. Now, a new exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution is tracing the history of lowriding from its roots in Chicano communities to its influence on art and activism. Anthea Hartig, director of the National Museum of American History, talks about perhaps the most famous lowrider of all time, "Gypsy Rose."

Then, in 1939, a Black aviator named Chauncey Spencer flew in a fragile biplane from Chicago to Washington, D.C., to advocate for Black representation among military pilots. Smithsonian curator Joseph Abel tells the story of that journey and the impact it made.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	WBUR Podcasts, Boston.
0:05.5	The lack of decoration to me speaks to the desire of African Americans to simply be treated as equals in the sky.
0:14.8	Not all heroes wear capes, as they say.
0:18.3	The little-known story of Chauncey Spencer,
0:24.4	an aviation daredevil in the era of segregation.
0:35.5	It's Friday, April 3rd,
0:38.5	and this is here and now anytime from NPR and WBUR.
0:39.6	I'm Chris Bentley.
0:52.5	Today on the show, we continue our series 25 at 250, exploring the archives of the Smithsonian in search of objects that help tell the story of America.
0:59.9	It's a storied institution, of course, with a collection that includes items from the 1787 Constitutional Convention and the 1903 Wright Flyer, which helped usher in the age of flight.
1:06.2	It's also got an example of another fly mode of transportation, a custom-made lowrider from 1964.
1:13.6	She is a standout, totally tricked out, totally candy Impala.
1:19.6	The Wright brothers could never.
1:21.6	A little later, we'll hear about the history of lowriders, their roots in Chicano culture, and their influence on art and activism.
1:36.2	But first, there is a good chance that you've heard of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first
1:41.7	black aviators in the American military. But before they flew in World
1:46.3	War II, there was an intrepid pilot named Chauncey Spencer, who in 1939 flew a rickety
1:53.9	biplane from Chicago to Washington, D.C. Today, his flight suit is on display in the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum. Curator Joseph
2:04.2	Abel at the museum told Scott Tong all about Chauncey Spencer. Chonty Spencer was born in Lynchburg,
2:12.4	Virginia, and like a lot of pilots here in this sort of golden age of flight, he had his first encounter
2:19.2	with an airplane at a barnstorming event.
2:22.2	He became fascinated with flight and decided that was what he wanted to do with his life.
	...

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