Dear Oaks & Spokes Community,
We want to acknowledge the events of the last week that continue to unfold surrounding police brutality, racism, and use of force against residents by our city, state, and national governments. Right up front, we want to center the voices of communities of color in Raleigh that we believe you should turn to first:
- Raleigh PACT (Police Accountability Community Taskforce)
- NC Community Bail Fund of Durham
- North Carolina NAACP
- Emancipate NC
- Untokening: a multiracial collective focused on mobility justice
But if you’re still here, wondering what Oaks & Spokes’ leadership has to say, we can start by stating unequivocally that Black lives matter; that we stand with people of color, Black folks in particular, and we condemn the racist violence that continues to befall them in our country.
Does what’s going on have anything to do with people on bikes in Raleigh? Well, perhaps. Racist policing affects who participates in cycling in our community, who is willing to participate in what kinds of advocacy, and what infrastructure and policies will work best for those who have reason to fear it. Many lower income residents are dependent on cycling for mobility, and see their needs ignored; meanwhile, others are forced to move to areas more distant from their destinations, forcing them to depend more on cars [1,2,3]. Cyclists of color disproportionately experience harassment and arrest from law enforcement [4], and are disproportionately harmed in car-on-bike and car-on-pedestrian collisions [1,3]. And while many of us view the addition of any new bike infrastructure as an unqualified victory, many of our neighbors of color see a freshly-painted bike lane as a harbinger of displacement from their communities [5].
So far, our advocacy efforts have fallen short of centering these needs, voices, and perspectives. We must do better; we will do better.
Furthermore, when we say that “streets are for people,” we’re usually speaking in support of cyclists, pedestrians, wheelchair users, and other users of lightweight mobility options getting around safely. Let us adapt this slogan to also express our support of protesters occupying the streets of downtown Raleigh and other cities, making their voices heard, and finding power in their numbers, and to recognize that “safety” means something different in this context: that the right of the people to the streets is threatened by, not protected by, law enforcement.
But while these issues clearly overlap with cycling advocacy, we want to reiterate that we’re not the people to turn to in search of answers. We want to let our community members of color know that we see them and support them, but not speak over them. We refer you again to the links above for organizations that need your support the most, and to the resources we cite to deepen your understanding of the need for anti-racism in the bicycle movement.
Thank you, as ever, for riding your bike.
The Oaks & Spokes Board:
Cody Stokes
Jonathon Powell
Annie Blazejack
Esly Nuñez
Sara Ellis
Kristi Pettibone
Chris Martens
Dan Boehl
Diane Gallagher
June 4, 2020
References
[1] Lugo, Adonia E. Bicycle/Race: Transportation, Culture, & Resistance. Microcosm Publishing, 2018.
[2] The Bike Nerds Podcast, Episode 44: Melody Hoffman. January 16, 2017. http://www.theoamnetwork.com/thebikenerds/2017/1/16/episode-44-melody-hoffmann
[3] Golub, Aaron, et al., eds. Bicycle justice and urban transformation: Biking for all?. Routledge, 2016.
[4] “How riding your bike can land you in trouble with the cops — if you’re black.” Tampa Bay Times, April 18, 2015. https://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/how-riding-your-bike-can-land-you-in-trouble-with-the-cops—if-youre-black/2225966/
[5] Hoffmann, Melody L. Bike lanes are white lanes: Bicycle advocacy and urban planning. U of Nebraska Press, 2016.