RIDE In Living Color: A Community-Based Effort

09/11/2026

Let’s face it y’all- it’s a different time! We is a different people called to do some different stuff. No matter how young, and no matter how old. It’s a deeper journey all revolutionarily tied to the mind, body, and soul! Are you ready…

09/11/2026

Tonight, thanks to an invitation from Hilary Norton, I attended a gathering near my home in Downtown Los Angeles and learned more about Randall Winston’s campaign for Seat 6 on the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees. It was wonderful to see Hilary as well.

With Randall’s background as an architect, attorney, and former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor of Infrastructure, I’m interested in learning more about his vision for student needs, workforce development, campus safety and access, and stronger connections between our colleges and communities.

I was also delighted to meet Paralympian Candace Cable, who wants to learn about programs serving Black, Brown, and other BIPOC communities and explore how she might support this work. She was encouraged by stories from my recent journey through Washington, D.C., Cambridge, and Bucktown, Maryland—conducting field research connected to Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass.

There is urgency in the air. We are standing at the crossroads of another era, trying to understand what it holds and the roles we are being called to play.

Now, sitting solo at a nearby café on Broadway, I’m reflecting on tonight’s connections and this season of learning to be brave, free, and liberated. It is still new to me, but I can feel it.

And it feels good.

Onward. We are the founders.

09/05/2026

Over the past decade, I have felt increasingly ignited to and seek a deeper understanding of myself, my community, my purpose, and the systems that shape our lives.

That seeking deepened this week in Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, I witnessed the vastness of Black struggle, resistance, creativity, movement, and survival—and was reminded that our family histories are inseparable from the larger history of this country. National museum of african american history and culture

At the PolicyLink Summit, I was also reminded that we are, in fact, the of this place—this country and this democracy. PolicyLink

As I continue my genealogical, historical, and anthropological research, that truth is becoming more personal.

I am Yolanda Davis-Overstreet, a descendant of Black people whose lives crossed Louisiana, Indian Territory and Oklahoma, and generations of Los Angeles history. I carry the Davis, Sturlese, Crump, and Smith names while continuing to investigate the Mays, Dunaway/Donaway, and Cherokee Freedmen connections within our family records.

Some names were preserved. Others were changed, withheld, erased, or remain to be recovered.

I stand as living evidence that they existed, endured, created family, and carried life forward. My work is to restore their humanity, understand what their lives reveal about Black existence in America, and carry their truths forward for generations to come.


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09/04/2026

Sending a shout out to Lena Williams, Los Angeles, for her amazing mobility justice and beyond!We are so proud of you! 🙌🏽🚲🌞

Lena is also featured in our 2022 short film that has shown throughout the country and internationally. She also was a part of our team in designing the REIMAGINE GUIDE (2023) with the focus on section - - check it out here https://www.bikingwhileblack.com/copy-of-bwb-guide!

Lena Williams is a dynamic leader and educator whose work centers on community, movement, and care. As Programs Director for People for Mobility Justice since June 2020, she leads initiatives…

09/03/2026

Welp! It’s time to return home to LA—the place that seemed to raise eyebrows every time I told people where I was from!

From the PolicyLink Summit, to Maryland’s Eastern Shore—Cambridge, Dorchester County, and Bucktown—and then back to DC, this has been quite a journey.

Three big takeaways from what we designed as a Biking While Black Fieldwork Research pilot—an intentional experience rooted in learning, exploration, listening, movement, and engagement:

#1: Acknowledge your fears and questions before beginning the journey. Take note of what you need to let go of, and prepare yourself as best you can for the unknown.

#2: Gather a team that can help you prepare restoratively and resourcefully for what I consider radical and healing research and fieldwork. Get ready to take the leap—and evolve!

#3: Document as much as you can while in movement. There is no way you will remember every breakthrough, connection, and insight gained along the way.

✨ Shoutout to the key people and places that made this journey so meaningful:

The PolicyLink Summit and the amazing people I met; Bill Jarmon and the Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center; Linda Harris; Susan Meredith, the Bucktown Village Store, and our ride along the Underground Railroad Scenic Byway; the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park and Visitor Center; and even the few taxi drivers helping people move throughout Dorchester County! 😌

In DC, Shoshanna Sumka made the final part of the fieldwork impactful and fun—from Frederick Douglass’s Cedar Hill home, the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, and the Anacostia trails, to Busboys and Poets, the DC Metro, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Deep appreciation to my amazing team—Elizabeth Doerr, Ryan Mekenian, Marlenia, and Annalisa—and to our community allies and friends, including Sophie Nenner and Bicycle Transit Systems. I also got to share a beautiful dinner with one of my great-nephews and stay connected with my adult children and mom, who kept checking to make sure I was safe!

What made this journey so special was realizing that I had a collective of meaningful people right by my side. 🙌🏽🚸🌞

08/30/2026

BWB Field Research Pilgrimage | Day One

I made it to Cambridge, Maryland, on the Eastern Shore!

My journey began with an Uber from the Ga***rd to the BWI Thurgood Marshall Amtrak Station—not to catch a train, but to meet the BayRunner Shuttle. The shuttle brought me to the Hyatt Regency, followed by a four-block walk to the more economical Holiday Inn Express. Total travel and waiting time: 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.!

My first stop was the Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center:

424 Race Street
Cambridge, MD 21613

I received a personalized tour from director Bill Jarmon and interviewed him on camera. Our conversation continued off camera as he shared an incredible range of stories about Harriet Tubman, Black history, and historic and present-day Cambridge.

Born in 1943, Bill is a true —a keeper of history, lived experience, and compassion.

The experience felt magical. I was simply open and ready to take it all in. These moments cannot be manufactured. For more than a decade, I have continued to be led to amazing human beings through this work.

I also shared the Biking While Black policy report developed with the UC Davis Feminist Research Institute and my friend and colleague Dr. Sarah McCullough. Bill and I plan to stay connected and explore how we can uplift one another’s efforts. Sarah Rebolloso McCullough

This pilgrimage builds upon the five powerful days I just experienced at the PolicyLink Summit—writing, rewriting, and reconstructing democracy because . PolicyLink

Mobility observation: There is no Uber service here—taxis are used. That is a whole other story and conversation! I’ve seen a few bicyclists and a bike lane along the corridor, but not many riders. Tomorrow, I’ll explore a trail connected to the Underground Railroad. Stay tuned!

If you’re wondering what kind of work we do at Biking While Black—this is it: mobility justice education, field research, bicycle education, joyful rides, storytelling, advocacy, and restorative human experiences.

Please donate through the link in our bio Biking While Black Project to help us continue sharing knowledge and uplifting profound efforts and untold stories.

08/29/2026

and headed to the Eastern Shore in Maryland- lands of Harriet Tubman. I consider her an abolitionist not only for our freedom but frankly our General that lead the way for mobility safety of any kind. This pic was taken at the BWI Thurgood Marshall Rail Station in Maryland.

Wrapping up the Policy Link Summit, where we talked much about this current time and projecting into the near future I now I’m taking the next week to go back in time to learn more about where we came from!✊🏾⚖️🌞

08/27/2026

Day Three | PolicyLink Summit — We Are The Founders

Today I found myself thinking about movement, mobility, connection—and what networking really means.

Moving through an unfamiliar space among thousands of people can feel overwhelming. But there’s power in believing in your purpose and remaining open to the people you encounter.

Some become bridges, messengers, mentors, collaborators or inspiration. They may speak to a question you’ve been carrying or challenge you to think differently.

That, too, is mobility. We move through places, systems and relationships—and connections form along the way.

Two sessions especially stayed with me:

Courageous Institutions: Philanthropy, Business, and What’s Next — Carmen Rojas, PhD, President & CEO of the Marguerite Casey Foundation, offered insights that deeply resonated.

Democracy’s Unfinished Story: The Promise of Founding — featuring civil rights attorney and scholar Sherrilyn Ifill, followed by a powerful panel discussion.

One of my strongest takeaways from Carmen Rojas was that creating just and thriving communities cannot be philanthropy’s responsibility alone. Government has a responsibility to its people, too. Public resources should improve the conditions in which people live.

That connects deeply to how I approach mobility justice. Government, philanthropy, business, community organizations and people directly impacted by inequitable systems all hold responsibility and power.

For Black and Brown communities facing disinvestment, inequitable infrastructure, over-policing and limited mobility, there is tremendous ground to make up.

No single institution or individual can do this alone.

Movement is human. Mobility is relational. Connection creates possibility. And justice requires all of us.

08/21/2026

08/13/2026

Happy August! 🚲✨ In Los Angeles, our streets are more than infrastructure—they are places where the work for mobility justice, safety, access, and joy continues to unfold. Our latest Biking While Black Field Notes shares what we’ve been up to and what’s ahead—from our recognition in the LA2050 Ideas Hub, to continued advocacy for safe bike infrastructure, to a new evolution of the Biking While Black brand and visual campaign coming this September.

As we continue building this movement, we need your support to keep the work moving forward. Every contribution to our summer fundraising campaign helps us continue producing stories, engaging communities, advocating for mobility justice, and bringing Biking While Black into its next chapter.

Read our August Field Notes, share it with your community, and please consider making a donation today. 🚲🖤

Read the August Biking While Black Field Notes

https://bikingwhileblack.substack.com/p/august-field-report-la2050-and-movement?r=5kz5m9&utm_medium=ios