Black-run organizations lead 10-mile bike ride to encourage voter registration

About two dozen people ride their bikes near Union Park in West Town during an event that aims to promote voter registration Friday afternoon, Oct. 16, 2020. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Roughly two dozen members of Black-run organizations took a 10-mile bike ride through West Town Friday after helping in a voter registration drive event aimed at the African American community.

“We are decreasing life outcomes when we limit people’s geographic mobility because when we limit people’s geographic mobility, we limit their economic mobility, educational mobility and employment mobility,” said Olatunji Oboi Reed, an avid bike rider and president of Equiticity, a nonprofit focused on transportation equity.

“So not only is this event important because folks are registering to vote, it’s important to remind our communities how crucial staying active and mobile is.”

Friday’s event, led by the the non-profit organization Pep Rally Takeover, was one of a series of events leading up to Election Day. Many participants were able to register to vote using Votable, an app created in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing that simplifies voting registration and helps eliminate voter suppression.

Joshua Johnson, creative consultant of Votable, and Veronica Peterson, creator of Votable, talk to biker Olatunji Oboi Reed.

Pep Rally Takeover, which specializes in “rallies to create unique musical experiences,” usually holds events inside schools in Chicago and Northwest Indiana. But with the coronavirus pandemic, a few adjustments had to be made.

“We’re still going because we know our work is important now more than ever, given the pandemic and all the social unrest we’ve seen. Our youth deserve to see positive changes,” said radio personality Rodney “Hotrod” Washington who founded Pep Rally Takeover.

While participants registered to vote, they were also offered free PPE from Color of Change, a national organization aimed at pushing corporations and governments to create a “less hostile world” for Black Americans.

After the voter registration drive, Divvy Bikes and Lyft offered free bikes for the 10-mile ride led by Street’s Calling Chicago, a cycling group started in the spring to encourage Black Chicagoans to stay active during the pandemic.

The group normally rides on the South Side from Bronzeville to locations like the South Loop — the home of many Black and Brown-owned businesses.

“Our No. 1 goal is to make sure that our Black and Brown communities come together and support each other while staying healthy,” said Daphany Sagaille, co-founder of Street’s Calling Chicago. “Biking is something peaceful that can help us release all the tension we have from watching our people constantly dying, and today we’re able to turn that movement into a political movement.”

For more information about upcoming events and the groups’ Nov. 3rd bike ride to the polls, follow Pep Rally Takeover on Facebook.

About two dozen people ride their bikes near Union Park in West Town during an event promoting voter registration Friday afternoon, Oct. 16, 2020.