Last month Chicago Tribune transportation writer Mary Wisniewski did a major service to the cause of bike equity in our city when she reported on a massive discrepancy in the number of tickets being written to bike riders in African-American communities compared to other neighborhoods. In the wake of this news, two local cycling advocates offered to share their experiences of “biking while black” in our city, and told me they’re determined to hold the Chicago Police Department accountable for ending its unfair enforcement practices.
These things may be factors, but there’s no way they account for 64 times as many citations being issued in lower-income, majority-black Austin as compared to affluent, majority-white, and bike-crazy Lincoln Park. While the motives of the officers stopping and ticketing cyclists aren’t certain, the numbers clearly show that the police are being far more aggressive about enforcing bike laws in African-American neighborhoods.
Ford, 52, is a real estate consultant who lives in the Washington Park neighborhood. She also runs a sustainability nonprofit called the T.A.G. Foundation, which has previously partnered with Working Bikes Cooperative to distribute hundreds of free bikes to families in Bronzeville and North Lawndale. Ford doesn’t own a car, and uses her Trek hybrid and the Divvy system as her primary means of transportation during the warmer months.
“It’s just another example of what we call a ‘black tax,'” she said. “It’s more expensive to do things or even live in Chicago as a black person.”
Last summer Smith was at the Bronzeville Bike Box pop-up shop at 51st and Calumet when he saw police ticket two black men in their mid-50s who had ridden their department-store mountain bikes for a block on the sidewalk.
“It’s not just about biking,” Ford added. “It’s about [African-Americans] being treated like criminals who are OK to profile. But I am optimistic that we can move the needle on this particular issue.”
