by Mary plays
May 17, 2025
The ride will raise money for Black entrepreneurs.
Black Leaders Detroit has launched another initiative to work towards its equity goals. With the new 2025 Ride for Equity, registrants can take part in a group cycling event that’s set to raise money for equitable funding practices for African American entrepreneurs and business owners, and raise awareness for the disparities they face. The ride, beginning May 31, will go from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to New York City, a total of over 1,600 miles.
The Ride for Equity events will begin locally in Detroit, Michigan, before the ride. On May 17, the activities kick off with a community bike ride from Corktown to Belle Isle to follow the Detroit Riverfront, a community run for anyone who registers, and a Yin Yoga for Equity yoga session.
Black Leaders’ actual Ride for Equity events will start the week after with the national bike ride on Black Wall Street in Tulsa’s historic Greenwood District.
The Ride for Equity will end on July 4 on Wall Street in NYC.
The description of the event reads“Pedal Towards Financial Equity and Justice. Support Entrepreneurs of African descent through a transformative bike ride for equity and awareness from Tulsa to NYC.”
Black Leaders Detroit’s Ride for Equity is filled with five weeks of tides through cities with roots in Black business, stopping to host a series of community discussions at key towns that focus on supporting Black business owners. The stops outside the opening and ending spots include: “Rolla, Missouri; Terre Haute, Indiana; Belmont, Ohio; and State College, Pennsylvania.”
The CEO and founder, Dwan Dandridge, of Black Leaders Detroit spoke to Bridge Detroit about the intentional choice of route.
Dandridge stated, “We’re riding from Black Wall Street in honor of the legacy of Greenwood. And we’re going to Wall Street because it’s another place where Black people had a huge hand in creating the wealth… but also not being able to benefit from the wealth that the labor created.”
All of the proceeds from the event will go towards supporting Black owner businesses, as per the Black Leaders Detroit’s website.
Since the organization is “fully aware that Detroiters of African descent have never lacked creativity, viable economic strategies, entrepreneurial zeal, or innovative business models, Black Leaders Detroit aims to diminish the disparities by providing the one thing that has been lacking: financial support.”
Since Black Leaders Detroit’s founding in 2019, the group has distributed nearly $5 million in grants and loans to over 600 different Black businesses and organizations.
Dandridge’s long-term vision for the Black Leaders Detroit organization is to create “a model and thriving city of fully empowered, responsive leaders and entrepreneurs reflective of its demographics” by encouraging its 1 million members to donate $1 a week to support their goal.
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