Bike ride will raise money for Black businesses, nonprofits

Bike ride will raise money for Black businesses, nonprofits

Bike ride will raise money for Black businesses, nonprofits

An organization plans to bike about 375 miles to raise money to help Black-owned businesses and nonprofits.

Black Leaders Detroit hosts the seven-day ride from Detroit to Mackinaw City called the BLD: Ride for Equity.  The group plans to leave from Detroit at 8 a.m. Sunday.

“Black leadership in Detroit still not having the same level of access as everyone else — this is a problem that should’ve been solved,” said Dwan Dandridge, president and founder of Black Leaders Detroit. “We shouldn’t still be having a discussion about equity in a city that’s (78.3%) Black.”

The group will arrive at Mackinaw City on Sept. 18, two days before the Mackinac Policy Conference — the annual statewide event that focuses on issues in economics, government and policy — begins. Before getting to Mackinaw City, the group will make pit stops to sleep in Lapeer, Saginaw, Clare, Cadillac, Elk Rapids and Petoskey. They will complete between 41 to 70 miles per day. 

The leader of Black Leaders Detroit, Dwan Dandridge, is training for a bike ride to the Mackinac Policy Conference he rides his bike for three hours a day. On Sept. 9, 2021, he rode the Dequindre Cut in Detroit.

Dandridge, 47, of Detroit has been training every day to make this journey. He’s used to completing 20-mile rides, but not up to 70 miles in one day. He said he was inspired to launch the bike ride after spending a lot of time talking to Black business and organization leaders who were looking for funding during the coronavirus pandemic.

More:Detroit’s Riverside Marina has 100-person waitlist

More:2 programs launched to support Detroit’s Black-owned businesses

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