Called a "one-of-a-kind event" and "an exhibitionist's paradise" by Jeffrey Gettleman, Black Bike Week is "all about riding, styling and profiling," in the words of Mayor Irene Armstrong of Atlantic Beach, South Carolina.

This was part of a larger effort to promote the motorcycle rally by the Bike Week Task Force, a group of business owners and public officials from around the Grand Strand area.

[4] In subsequent years the rally was held in Cherry Grove, Jacksonville and Wilmington, North Carolina before returning to Myrtle Beach.

[22] Attendance at the 2010 Bikefest events held in Atlantic Beach appeared to be up over 2009, with greater variety in entertainment, merchandise and services offered.

Atlantic Beach Town Manager William Booker said there are more families with children, and that, "We have a lot more going on in terms of vendors this year, including more people who are selling parts and upgrades for bikes, which is something we're really working to get more of.

Since then, for certain events, the only restriction has been making Ocean Boulevard southbound only south of 29th Avenue, with a limited number of locations to access Kings Highway, and with the northbound lane used only for emergency vehicles.

[33] On March 2, 2021, it was announced that Atlantic Beach Bikefest had been cancelled for the second year in a row according to Town Manager, Benjamin Quattlebaum Jr.

[36] In 2003 a group of black motorcyclists, and the South Carolina chapter of the NAACP, sued the city of Myrtle Beach and some businesses there alleging discrimination.

Many businesses closed their doors or cut back their hours during Black Bike Week, and 28 of them, including Red Lobster and Denny's were named in the suit.

[7] In a May 25, 2003 article in the New York Times, Jeffrey Gettleman reported that a pattern had emerged of black social and party events growing ever larger in stature and then collapsing and quickly being shut down, particularly in the Southern United States.

[6] In 2008, the NAACP issued a press release claiming success in concluding every federal discrimination lawsuit they had filed in Myrtle Beach for complaints during bike week events from 1999–2003, against the City of Myrtle Beach, and restaurants that included Damon's Oceanfront and Barefoot Landing, J. Edward's Great Ribs, and Greg Norman's Australian Grill, as well as the Yachtsman Resort Hotel.

[41] On February 27, 2018, the NAACP and others sued the city of Myrtle Beach claiming that their police officers treated African Americans differently and more harshly.

Vendors, hotels, biker groups and promoters attempted to schedule events for Black Bike Week 2010 despite the Myrtle Beach government's ban.

[45] The Myrtle Beach Convention Center had ceased attempting to find a replacement for the Carolina Harley-Davidson Dealers Association, which had moved to Hard Rock Park.

The ruling took effect immediately, requiring that pending citations be dismissed, the records of those cited under the ordinance be expunged, and all fines collected be returned.

[50] BOOST's mission includes ending "the practice of ‘selective tourism,’ whereby government entities and/or organizations welcome some individual and group tourists but discourage others.

[52] In defense of the ordinance, the city's court filings argued six key points, among them that their helmet law was constitutional and did not contradict the state traffic code.

Some motorcycle rally participants immediately booked rooms for the next year, while others vowed never to return to Myrtle Beach, instead favoring businesses outside the city limits.

[56] After the incidents, South Carolina governor Nikki Haley said on May 30, 2014, that with the damage to the area's reputation hurting tourism and efforts to attract other industries, "It is time for that Bikefest to come to an end, and that is the way that I am going to talk to the elected officials of Atlantic Beach."

The previous day, Atlantic Beach Mayor Jake Evans said the event would not be cancelled;[57] he pointed out that the vast majority of bikers are good people.

[58] At a summit held September 22 and 23 and attended by local officials and police officers from different areas, Haley said that while she still opposed the event, "They can continue to have Bikefest if they follow our rules.