I Dream of a Day I Can 'Just Stick to Cycling' and Not Worry About Anything Else
There’s often concerns about how police enforce travel and whether you’ll be stopped Every Black man in America has had “The Talk” about what happens if you get pulled over by the police. Driving while Black is a very real issue. Unfortunately, bicycling while Black, taking transit while Black, and walking while Black all have similar connotations.
To my knowledge, I have not experienced racism in bicycling. However, I recognize there is a lot of privilege to bicycling more as a hobby, rather than as a requirement. I don’t own a car and have typically lived within walking distance to work or to a subway station. That highlights, though, one of the underlying factors that many Black and brown people—and especially those displaced in the last 30 years from central urban areas—may not have the privilege to be within bicycling distance of where we want to travel. Similarly, bike routes may not span the routes we may be traveling for our trips.
Racial weathering—the ongoing stress of micro- and macroaggressions—is a real issue. Unlike for white people that get to check in and check out of the conversation about race, this is an everyday lived experience for Black people. It’s a weight we all carry with us through every experience we have. Gaslighting is also a real issue for the ways white people often question Black people’s experience, even when seeing the very real issues we deal with on video over and over again.
The fight for racial justice isn't going to be easy and it’s not going to be quick. Most importantly, it will require white people to do some soul searching that is going to make them uncomfortable. It can’t rely on Black people to do all the work.
Warren Logan, 31, is the Director of Mobility for the Oakland, CA, Mayor’s Office.
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