At the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC), our mission is to make Los Angeles County a healthy, safe, and fun place to ride a bicycle. The board and staff of our organization are diverse, as are our members. What makes our work and our community so strong is that we are able to embrace and celebrate what makes us each unique. We are also strong because we are able to speak clearly and honestly about racism, sexism, homophobia, and institutionalized structures of white supremacy and how they impact people as they move through their lives and are mobile in their communities.
In recent months, weeks, and days, we have witnessed leaders on the national and local level make hateful and divisive comments that make groups of individuals the other, rather than including them. We have also seen many people make excuses for this behavior or simply refuse to call it what it is. Hate. Racism. Xenophobia. Homophobia. Transphobia. Sexism.
We want to be clear: statements that bully, ridicule, and stereotype groups of people or individuals based on characteristics or identity–such as their race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender identity (including transgender identity and gender expression), weight, height, linguistic characteristics (such as accent and limited English proficiency), or citizenship status–are hateful and cause real harm.
Members of our community, members of our board, and members of our staff have been the victims of these types of attacks and they do not reflect the bicycle advocacy community we represent. For years, many bicycle advocates have been fighting to center social justice in their work. Many of those advocates have been low-income people, women, or people of color, whose voices are often ignored or muted, compared to those with more privilege claiming to represent the bicycle community. We are a diverse and vibrant community. Many of us live at the intersections of multiple identities. It is a misconception that bicycle advocates care only about bike lanes. Many of us see the bike as a tool to bring people and communities together.
Hate is not a value of the Los Angeles Bicycle Coalition. Hate is not a value of the community we represent. Hate does not reflect our board or our staff. We stand with marginalized and historically neglected communities against hate. We hope you stand with us.
LACBC is 501(c)(3) and does not make endorsements of political candidates.