Learning Together
Lessons from the League of American Bicyclists’ First Instructor Training for Women and People of Color
It made a big difference for Binky Brown, an Oakland resident and queer woman of color, to learn together with other women and people of color. This past October, Binky was one of 15 people who attended a League Certified Instructor (LCI) training geared specifically towards increasing diversity in Bike East Bay’s education program.
“Knowing you’re expecting a diverse crowd is awesome,” said Binky. “You’re just gonna be more relaxed.”
As the founder of Hard Knox Bikes, Binky — who also previously ran Bike East Bay’s valet bike parking program — has taught bike mechanics workshops in Oakland for years. While researching how to become a League Certified Instructor, Binky found the trainings were out of her reach. The intense three-day, 24-hour training costs $300 and the nearest class at the time was in Napa, which is difficult to access by public transportation.
In an email to the League of American Bicyclists, Binky wrote:
A class in downtown Oakland, near the BART stations, would allow the easiest access for the most disadvantaged and underrepresented communities to attend an LCI Certification seminar.
Specifically, Binky highlighted the need for a class specifically for women, people of color, and transgender persons.
Two hours after Binky emailed the League, Bike East Bay received a note from the League’s Executive Director Alex Doty asking if he could partner with Binky and Bike East Bay to bring an LCI training to Oakland.
“It was perfect timing,” said Robert Prinz, Bike East Bay’s Education Director.
Over the past year, Robert had been working to recruit more racially and geographically diverse instructors to our education program. This initiative is part of our strategy for increasing the diversity of bike advocates across the East Bay. Our bike education instructors are invested in bringing better bike infrastructure to their neighborhoods and many join advocacy efforts in the cities where they live.
Over 40 women and people of color applied for the instructor training. By securing a generous sponsor, Bay Area Bicycle Law, we were able to bring in a League trainer to provide this class free of cost for 15 participants.
Bike East Bay learned from this training as well. Overall, the attendees felt there was not enough room in the standard instructor curriculum for them to share their knowledge as “not your typical” bike educator. We agree this was a huge missed opportunity when there were such diverse and valuable experiences in the room. Our lessons learned will be important first steps towards making the League’s Smart Cycling curriculum more accessible to people from diverse backgrounds.
Education Director Robert Prinz wants future instructors-in-training to know, “You’re invited to this training because we value your knowledge and experience. This training needs YOU, not the other way around.”
Want to get involved in bike education in your community? Come check out Bike East Bay’s work at our upcoming Urban Cycling 101 class series. These two classes fulfill prerequisites for attending a League Certified Instructor training. Sign up at BikeEastBay.org/Education.
Back to the Winter 2017 issue of RideOn, Bike East Bay’s quarterly newsletter.
