Black History Tour
Posted by Bikeverywhere, November 16th, 2020
Following the death of George Floyd on May 25th, the Twin Cities Bike Club acknowledged its own shortcomings in promoting a more welcoming environment for non-white riders. They issued what has become a standard declaration about their intent to do more. It could have ended there, as these statements often do, but board member John Benda decided to do more. He worked with Louis Moore of the Major Taylor Bike Club and fellow members of TCBC to develop a black history tour of the Twin Cities, with a focus on the racial inequities Black people have faced in the Cities. The 35 mile route starts at Minnehaha Falls and stops at the obvious spots, such as 38th and Chicago, where George Floyd was murdered and the Philando Castile Memorial and Peace Garden, but it also takes in the Rondo Commemorative Plaza where the thriving Rondo neighborhood was replaced by I-94, the African American Heritage Museum at Plymouth and Penn, and other, lesser known sites.