Bike for Black Lives

My name is Aaron A'Vant and I am a recent graduate from The University of Rhode Island. This past week, and these past days especially have been quite tough to digest as an African American living in today's society.  What Derek Chauvin and his fellow officers did to George Floyd was nothing other than pure, blatant murder and a disgusting disregard for human life. It was the "straw in the camel's back" that shed the light on and displayed one of the many problems regarding law enforcement. We all know that. Now let me start by saying that this will not be a long-winded post on all of my views of recent events regarding the blatant abuse that has been plaguing law enforcement in America for years. That will come soon. However, I want to use this post to help the Black Lives Matter Movement to the best of my ability and where this cause needs help most is raising money for bailing out protesters, hiring lawyers, and raising funds to lobby for reform to finally get rid of bills and laws that have systematically held back the Black population for years.

So what am I doing? Well my goal is to raise awareness and monetary donations by biking across parts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. On the morning of June 16th, 2020, I will begin biking to and along the East Bay Bike Path for as far as my body will physically allow me to go. It is a 15 mile bike path and hopefully I can complete it at least twice. The farthest that I have ever rode is 21 miles however something tells me that with the cause at hand, I will be able to push past 30. My personal goal would be to ride for 50 miles although I do understand that is over doubling my personal record and I may be biting off way more than I can chew. However, a little leg cramping and thigh pain sounds much better than being racially profiled because of my dark skin. So that's my goal. To raise money so I can wake up one morning and bike until my legs give out in hopes that I can support and fight for not only mine and my friends lives, but Black lives across America. 

All of the proceeds from donations will go to the following organizations:The National Black Lives Matter fund (blacklivesmatter.com) is the movement to fight for freedom, liberation and justice for the Black community. Campaign Zero (https://www.joincampaignzero.org/#vision) aids in the analysis of policing practices across the country, research to identify effective solutions to end police violence, technical assistance to organizers leading police accountability campaigns and the development of model legislation and advocacy to end police violence nationwide. Lastly, the National Police Accountability Project (https://www.nlg-npap.org/) is dedicated to ending the abuse of authority through legal action, public education, and support. As well as this, a portion of the funds raised will be donated to COVID-19 relief to help get PPE and other equipment to front-line workers.

Note: If you are planning to make a donation based on my personal mileage, would like to bike alongside me, or feel more comfortable using Venmo or CashApp, use this link: https://forms.gle/JxdkjP2JDR1rVdtAA