LOCAL
Britny Cordera, The Oklahoma Eagle
Six riders rode the entire distance from Black Wall Street to Wall Street, including Osborne Celestain (third from the left) from Tulsa and Linda Jackson (far right) from Oklahoma City. Photo, Osborne Celestain
Each day of the Ride for Equity meant six to 10 hours on a bike, followed by shared meals, sore legs and little to no alone time. But 35 days and nearly 1,700 miles later, cyclists from across the country rolled into New York City after finishing their Black Wall Street to Wall Street journey that started in Tulsa’s Greenwood District.
“The ride wasn’t just about the miles — it was about connecting the dots between Tulsa’s Black Wall Street and the ongoing fight for economic equity,” said Dwan Dandridge. He’s from Detroit and hosts the Ride for Equity – an annual cycling event to support Black businesses.
This year’s ride started on May 31 at 7 a.m. just a stone’s throw away from the Greenwood Cultural Center.
Osborne Celestain is the executive director of the Community Light Foundation. He calls himself an avid cyclist and has, for the past four years, organized the Ride to Remember to fight food insecurity in north Tulsa. The Tulsa Central High School graduate said joining this “historic event” with Dandridge was a no brainer.
“I do a Black Wall Street ride every year — this is my hometown,” Celestain told The Oklahoma Eagle. “How could I not join this similar event passing through Tulsa?”
The ups and downs
Dandridge, CEO of Black Leaders Detroit, has helped distribute over $4 million to Black businesses through grants and no-interest loans.
“We ask people to donate $1 a week, and our goal is to get to a million people making that commitment,” he said. “That’s the reason we do ambitious, kind of crazy initiatives like biking across the country.”
In St. Louis, some 460 miles from Tulsa, Dandridge said he witnessed a moment of unexpected generosity. “Black communities there had just been hit by a tornado. And yet, 50 people signed up to donate a dollar a day. I was blown away,” he said.
Traveling halfway across the country by bike comes with some challenges. For Celestain, that was adjusting to being around people all the time.
“I wasn’t as physically tired as I was mentally tired,” he said. “Around day 25, my hangout meter was on overload.”
Still, he was buoyed by the mobile community he was journeying with. One grueling day in Pennsylvania stood out to him. “We had a ride where there were a couple of steep hills, 17%, 21% incline,” Celestain said. He said after he got passed by one person, another helped him make it to the top. “That was the second-best day I’ve ever had on a bicycle,” he said.
What’s next
Though the ride has ended, its impact is still unfolding. “We launched a new no-interest loan for real estate developers of African descent,” Dandridge said. “Over 97 people applied in 15 days.”
A documentary capturing the journey is in the works.
“When that documentary comes out, Tulsa will get a lot of exposure. Black Wall Street will get a lot of exposure,” Celestain said. “We’re planting seeds today for a harvest six months from now.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to remove repetitive paragraphs.
