In five years, he met the love of his life, got the car of his dreams, forged ties with the LAPD and started the Brotherhood of Street Racers — transforming him into the man known as Big Willie. Listen to the first two episodes of 'Larger Than Life' now:
In the summer of 1965, the Watts riots exploded across predominantly black South L.A. Residents were already livid about a lack of jobs and being segregated to live mostly on the city’s south side. But most of all, black people were tired of relentless police brutality. So on Aug. 11, after a traffic stop involving a young black man named Marquette Frye, they rose up to fight the police. Over six days, nearly 3,500 people were arrested, more than 1,000 were injured and 34 people died.
Tomiko had been a shy young woman when Willie first met her, according to her cousin, Karen Daniels. But she quickly blossomed. Daniels said they soon had all the same interests — including lifting weights and racing cars."She was one of the fastest Californian female drivers," Daniels said.Big Willie documented his wild life in oversized scrapbooks, which he filled with newspaper stories, magazine articles and photographs.
Cars had always been status symbols for Willie, dating back to his childhood in New Orleans. His dad had given him a car — a 1953 Oldsmobile 98. It was a handsome ride drenched in chrome and powered by a big V-8. And at that time in New Orleans, having a car as a young black man — even a used one — was a big deal. But that car had been vandalized by white people angry over integration at Willie's university, Louisiana State University in New Orleans. As he made a name for himself in L.A.
Ahead of the auction of the Duke and Duchess Daytona, muscle car aficionados who made the trip to the Mecum event checked out the gleaming coupe. Middle-aged Midwesterners clutching hot dogs and auction catalogs said they had first heard of Big Willie decades ago as car-obsessed teens.
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