Beyond Metaphor: Tamika Butler Talks Cycling as a Symbol of Freedom and Why It Matters

Tamika Butler ('09), Principal at Tamika L. Butler Consulting, contributed an article to bicycling.com recounting the best job she ever had, her vision of the bike as a social justice tool, and why systemic racism can't be fixed without tackling it within bicycling ("Why We Must Talk About Race When We Talk About Bikes: Systemic Racism Can't Be Fixed without Tackling It within Cycling," June 9). "To truly make transformational change for all people who bike, we must go beyond a 'Bike Month' or an occasional unity ride. … We must get past an ethos of exclusion. Once we can get past these things as a bicycle community, we can celebrate what bicycling should truly be about—the power to be free and move freely. … Bicycling cannot solve systemic racism in the United States. But systemic racism can't be fixed without tackling it within bicycling."
BACK TO TOP