Ride4Reparations

What's the Money For?

Your donation to Ride4Reparations contributes to building a more just America. We are raising money to: 

• Organize bike rides in the Twin Cities to build awareness of our cities' complex racial history and how we got to where we are today
• Engage community members - especially white ones - who want to do their part to make real, lasting change 
• Donate to organizations serving America's Black community
• Make our organization sustainable

Why Ride4Reparations? 

The legacy of slavery is the racial inequity that exists today in its many forms, including segregated housing, poor schools, mass incarnation, and high crime rates. The mission of Ride 4 Reparations is to help heal racial inequity in America by:

• Raising the consciousness of Americans regarding how important slavery and enslaved people were in making America the prosperous and powerful country it is today.
• Giving people a vehicle to raise awareness through bicycle rides highlighting sites of importance in America’s Black community and through donations to agencies and institutions whose mission is to uplift members of this community.

We believe that:

• The United States of America is a powerful and prosperous country
• The institution of slavery and the millions of enslaved people who suffered were a very important part of how the USA became powerful and prosperous
• The descendants of enslaved people and people who look like them, African-Americans still, today, suffer with the legacy of slavery through segregated neighborhoods, unequal education, mass incarnation, denial/suppression of voting rights, and much more
• If you are white in America, and especially if you are white and doing well in America, you are a beneficiary of slavery and its ongoing legacy
• People of good will want to acknowledge the debt they owe to the enslaved people of the past and their descendants today
• Reparations for this are owed
• Ride4Reparations provides an opportunity for participants to:
  • Be part of a fun and healthy group bicycle ride
  • Get educated about the influence of slavery today
  • Acknowledge a debt of gratitude to the enslaved people who helped make our country powerful and prosperous 
  • Make a reparation payment to one of several agencies or institutions that serve to uplift African-Americans