"

It reminds me of the “bike to work” movement. That is also portrayed as white, but in my city more than half of the people on bike are not white. I was once talking to a white activist who was photographing “bike commuters” and had only pictures of white people with the occasional “black professional” I asked her why she didn’t photograph the delivery people, construction workers etc. … ie. the black and Hispanic and Asian people… and she mumbled something about trying to “improve the image of biking” then admitted that she didn’t really see them as part of the “green movement” since they “probably have no choice” –

I was so mad I wanted to quit working on the project she and I were collaborating on.

So, in the same way when people in a poor neighborhood grow food in their yards … it’s just being poor– but when white people do it they are saving the earth or something.

This times a million. This is why I fucking got fed up with being a political bike commuter and white hipster bike culture. When Cleveland built a nice bike friendly avenue for cyclists (Euclid Corridor) it went from downtown to University Circle and promptly ended right after, instead of continuing to East Cleveland (a predominantly black and poor city) where I always see people bike commuting. Granted there actually is a city line there but they could have made it happen if they wanted to. Nobody gives a shit about people of color on bikes. White on a bike: cool and conscious. Black on a bike: poor and untrustworthy."