Biking While Black is more than just a mode of transportation; it's a mobility justice movement that celebrates the resilience, strength, and spirit of the Black community is a mobility justice movement that seeks to empower BIPOC bicyclists, dismantle systemic barriers, and reimagine a world where cycling is a source of joy, freedom, and safety for all. Through the power of storytelling, community engagement, and advocacy, Biking While Black is changing the narrative and transforming the cycling landscape.
Yolanda Davis-Overstreet
FOUNDER OF BIKING WHILE BLACK
Yolanda is a dedicated community-based activist and mobility justice strategist, with a degree from the Urban Sustainability Master’s Program (USMA) at Antioch University, Los Angeles. Her passion lies in community organizing and mobility justice, with a particular focus on enhancing pedestrian safety in communities of color. Yolanda is renowned for her directorial roles in two impactful short films addressing the issue of BIKING WHILE BLACK and her tireless advocacy efforts within local, regional and national communities.
In addition to her filmmaking endeavors, Yolanda plays pivotal roles in various organizations, serving as a board member for the California Bicycle Coalition and as a Commissioner for Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell's Highway Safety Commission - 2nd District. As a woman of color, mother, and committed social and environmental activist, Yolanda brings a unique perspective shaped by her training in urban sustainability. She emphasizes the importance of both individual and collective narratives in driving meaningful change.
Yolanda's leadership style is characterized by adaptability and inclusivity. She engages in continuous comparative research, observational studies, and cultivates relationships at local and national levels to advance her causes. Through her extensive community work, Yolanda embodies a commitment to fostering positive transformation within marginalized communities.
Biking wHILE BLACK FILM
Since September 2021, BIKING WHILE BLACK: HOW SAFE ARE BLACK LIVES BICYCLING? has traveled on the virtual waves of YouTube, and varied social media platforms, as well as has been screened in Detroit at the Better Cities Film Festival, and in Oakland at the California Bicycle Summit! In all cases, the feedback from each platform was that folks want to see more, learn more, and activate change where we can! The overall consensus is that all can envision there is a much much bigger story to tell.
This second episode, BIKING WHILE BLACK: CONTINUING TO RIDE THROUGH DECRIMINALIZATION, DISENFRANCHISEMENT AND GENTRIFICATION, expands upon the 9-minute short film and dialogue by incorporating more narratives to dig deeper into the solution-based storytelling and features the actions being taken by some of our leading Black bicyclists and BIPOC community-based organizations who are paving new roads to tackle the myths, the community safety conditions in Los Angeles, and celebrating Black joy on two wheels.
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
Like the Phoenix that rises from the ashes, Black and BIPOC lives continue to have an unseen connection to the realms of hope and resilience. Some of the key revelations that were spoken of during our interviews were on uplifting and educating our youth to become leaders and navigators in bicycling education and mechanics, safety education, and engagement, paired with mobility justice advocacy. Some of our interviewees even talked on the aspirations of training and mentoring our next Black and Brown bicycling Olympians and cycling professionals. We talked on the need to create more BIPOC-owned bicycling shops and CoOp’s, and on how this would look and operate under a social and mobility justice lens. The collective agreement was that one can’t exist without the other – mobility can’t exist without justice as it relates to the
wellbeing and safety of BIPOC lives. And lastly, from the transportation agency perspective, we spoke on the need for these agencies to invest in acknowledging, hiring, and collaborating with community leaders who have been doing the work to help keep their multi-generational community members safe and informed.
Production Team
YOLANDA DAVIS-OVERSTREET,Director
HARLY CRANDALL, Cinematographer, Co-Producer
CHARLIE UTTER (Design Lab at Otis College of Art & Design), Art Design
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