Equiticity’s North Lawndale Ride highlighted neighborhood landmarks and the future Go Hub sustainable mobility headquarters

Yesterday, Equiticity hosted The North Lawndale Ride, an “opportunity to bring families, neighbors, and community members together in celebration of wellness, movement, and community connection.” It was the second such ride that they hosted in as many months. According to Equiticity Community Mobility Rituals Lead Daphne Sagille, while the routes might have been similar, the main reason for the June ride was to celebrate those who won a prize during Equiticity’s bike giveaway back in April, along with their families. 

“We’ve always done bike rides in and throughout Lawndale,” said Equiticity Interim Senior Director of Impact Remel Terry after the ride. “When we’re doing our [Community Mobility Rituals] season, we partner with Boxing Out Negativity, where we do a Friday night ride, and that sometimes stays within Lawndale, but then we may go downtown or different areas or different adjacent neighborhoods. So that wasn’t our first time, but it is definitely something that’s near and dear to us, because this is where Equaticity was founded, and it’s really important to highlight the beauty and assets, and to really convene community.”

The ride started at Monday Coffee Co., 3243 W. 16th St., and went through the major landmarks of North Lawndale. Most of the participants were on Divvy bike-share cycles that were available as complimentary loaners. They rolled through Douglas Park, by Mason Elementary, Unity Park, and historic areas like 16th Street and Dr. King Legacy Apartments. A notable stop on the ride was at the lots at 2107 to 2111 S. Pulaski Rd., the future site of Equiticity’s Go Hub sustainable transportation headquarters.

“The Go Hub is a mobility hub that allows for access to multimodal devices for community members in Lawndale,” said Terry during the ride.”E-bikes, e-cargo bikes, scooters, as well as electric vehicles at low to no cost. We are working collaboratively with Divvy, and they’ve been a lot better in terms of pricing, but we know that field does not cover many of those community members who need access to reliable transportation. And so we’re doing the work to solve that.”

The Go Hub is going to be located just south of the Pink Line’s Pulaski Station, which will make it easier for residents to check out and return vehicles that they borrow. The Go Hub will offer access to vehicle charging stations, as well as repairs and workforce development.

“The most important thing is presence,” said Sagille, “It’s not even about the bike ride, it’s about those that see the bike ride and they feel encouraged to bring positivity to the neighborhood itself. I find that people get excited to see bicyclists, especially bicyclists of color. They’re honking, they’re excited, they’re asking how to join. They want to see this more in the neighborhood, so it’s more about having a positive presence.”

One of the participants, Lawndale resident Unique Nelson noted that riding bikes can help improves one’s mental health. Nelson’s doctor recommended going outside, exercising, meeting new people, and being around good energy and good vibes.

When the ride was over, Nelson spoke very positively about the experience. “It was beautiful,” said Nelson. “I didn’t know much about the actual community prior to today, so it was very informational, very educational. I didn’t know they were gonna build a Go Hub, and that was pretty cool. I got to hear some historical facts about Martin Luther King and things like that.”

Dwight Reed, the father of Equiticity’s president and CEO Olatunji Oboi Reed, also came along for the ride to support the organization and his son. He lives in Chatham on the South Side, and he said it was a positive experience to ride through through North Lawndale on the West Side.

“The bike ride draws people to North Lawndale, and probably gives them a bigger picture of what’s going on in North Lawndale,” said Dwight Reed. “Even though I’m from South Side Chatham, at least I’m familiar with North Lawndale. I know exactly what the struggles are of the people that live in North Lawndale, and the struggles in North Lawndale are no different from the struggles in Chatham or Woodlawn, or Bronzeville. It’s the same struggle, it’s the same battle, it’s the same war. So it just shows that there’s a connection here, and everybody needs to be in support of each other in terms of what they need.”

According to Sagille, Equiticity will soon hold another bike ride in Humboldt Park, and another one at 75th Street and Stoney Island Avenue in South Shore. Check out the Equiticity website for updates on these events.

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