Chatham Native Honored at the White House for Bike Advocacy
Olatunji Oboi Reed, the president and co-founder of Slow Roll Chicago, a bicycle movement that aims to transform lives and improve the condition of communities, was chosen this week by the U.S. Department of Transportation as a 2015 White House Transportation Champion of Change.
Out of 350 submissions, Reed, a Chatham native, and ten other transportation innovators from across the country, were selected for leading transportation projects and initiatives in their communities.
Reed will be honored this week at the White House where he will be recognized by U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and participate in a panel discussion where he will highlight his efforts in advancing bicycle equity and active transportation in Chicago, with a focus on the South Side and West Side.
Reed recently expressed his appreciation for receiving the accolade by saying on a blog posting, “What started as a simple bike ride soon set into motion my most transformative journey. It was in this moment that I became a cyclist and everything inside of me changed. Biking was becoming an effective tool in my toolkit to address my depression. I know unequivocally that cycling has significantly improved both my mental and physical health. And, I am alive today, in part, as a result of that bicycle ride on Chicago’s lakefront trail over a decade ago. This knowledge fuels my current efforts to bring the many benefits of cycling to others in our communities.”
Slow Roll was originally founded in Detroit, Mi., in 2010 by Jason Hall and Mike MacKool, as a weekly bike ride through the city. Reed and Slow Roll Chicago co-founder Jamal Julien, wanted to set something up in Chicago. In 2014, Slow Roll Chicago began sponsoring theme-centric rides in various Chicago neighborhoods by partnering with community organizations in those areas.
Over the past year, Slow Roll Chicago has been featured in media publications including DNAInfo Chicago, Ebony, Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times. In August 2015, Slow Roll Chicago received funding to engage high school students in the Englewood and Back of the Yards neighborhoods in advocating for safe ways to bike to and from school.
Reed says that Slow Roll’s story resonates with so many people no matter where they are from.
“Jamal [Julien] and I created a beautiful movement. And we use bikes to create a pretty diverse community. We have always believed intensely in the power of bicycles to be transformative in our neighborhoods, Reed says. “This resonates with people - media, community, partner organizations, elected officials, etc. We ride bikes to make our neighborhoods better. This is why we exist and this is why we ride. People notice, this makes up proud."
To find out more information on Slow Roll, log on to http://www.slowrollchicago.org/.
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