Biking While Black: A Roadmap to Advocacy and Joy

Join the May 21 Toolbox Tuesday featuring mobility justice leader and activist Yolanda Davis-Overstreet. After screening her short documentary film, “Biking While Black: Continuing to Ride Through Decriminalization, Disenfranchisement, and Gentrification,” Davis-Overstreet will show participants how to apply established mobility justice advocacy strategies to effectively address transportation inequities. 

In 2021 and 2022, Davis-Overstreet was awarded funding through the Go Human Mini-Grant program to film and release two short documentary films. The award-winning documentary film Biking While Black: How Safe Are Black Lives Bicycling? (2021) focused on the daily experiences that Black lives encounter while bicycling. The second film Biking While Black: Continuing to Ride Through Decriminalization, Disenfranchisement, and Gentrification (2022), addresses critical conversations around police enforcement, historic disinvestment of infrastructure, racism, racial profiling, and even death. 

Building on the groundwork of the films, in 2023 Davis-Overstreet published “Reimagine Biking While Black: Roadmap to Justice and Joy Advocacy Guide,” a community-led data and storytelling project that spotlights the personal narratives of mobility justice advocates, how to address transportation inequities in Los Angeles and how to incorporate joy into advocacy work. “Reimagine Biking While Black” not only presents innovative ideas but also outlines actionable steps for its users. This culturally- centered guide not only offers essential education, data and resources but also illuminates the necessary measures for creating safer and more sustainable streets and spaces within communities of color.