Black Lives Matter. Full stop.

We acknowledge our privilege, and recognize that doing so is an ongoing process. We, as individuals and as a team, know there is an overwhelming amount of work to do in deconstructing and reforming a fundamentally unjust society. We do not aim here to provide you with directives, nor lists of resources, but rather to share some of what we, as members of a community group, are thinking and doing. We encourage you not to judge how someone else is protesting, but rather to ask yourself how you are acting and feeling in response to systemic racism and police brutality, state-sanctioned militarization, white supremacists emboldened by the federal administration, who are funded and fueled by an entrenched corporate power structure. Find what small changes you can make, and Take an L when you mess up.

Some actions our members are taking:   

*Listening, reading, and learning. Working to recognize the difference between amplifying someone else and making it about you. Listen, read, and learn from Black people who are explicitly offering concrete ways to help. 

*Voting. But also, throwing sand in the gears in between elections by challenging city budgets. In Philadelphia, this is happening NOW. Holding our elected officials accountable is not something that just happens on election day. Turn in your ballot or go to the polls Tuesday (note your polling place has likely changed due to the pandemic), read up on the city’s budget proposal and write your council reps and reps-at-large. The hearing on police funding is tomorrow. 

*Donating money. Our team has donated $350 from our operating budget to Philly Community Bail Fund. Individual members are researching and allocating additional donations as they are able. 

*Using our privilege to ask the bike/outdoor industry to do better. Not just releasing statements (which they should do) but spending and investing in ways that effect systemic change. 

*Role playing having difficult conversations about racism. Practicing how to speak up or confront someone will make it easier to do so in a tense moment.