Cyclists blanket North Side streets to protest police brutality

Caleb DeBerry, 17, recently got his learner’s permit but feels trepidation about taking the next step to get his driver’s license.

The teenage rite of passage is fraught for DeBerry, a rising senior at Northside College Prep, because of the violence Black men have experienced at the hands of police during traffic stops.

“My main worry is not getting my license but getting pulled over,” he said.

Because of the way the issue has shaped his life experiences, DeBerry joined more than 100 cyclists in an 8-mile bike ride to protest police brutality following nearly a month of protests and civil unrest after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

“It’s a way to be safe and distant while using your body to take up space,” said organizer Ashaki McClain.

The event was meant to uplift the voices of Black youth like DeBerry, who were participating, as well as speaking and performing along the route, McClain said.

Before setting off, the cyclists cheered and raised their fists in the air, the symbol of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The group blanketed Howard Street, closing off the street for more than a block before heading to Sheridan Road. The cyclists wove through the North Side, starting in Rogers Park’s Willye B. White Park and ending in Warren Park in West Ridge.

Many riders dressed in black to represent the Black Lives Matter movement and taped signs to their bicycles calling for officials to defund the police.

Tyrone Harris, a regular cyclist and bike courier, was particularly attracted to this protest because it connects physical fitness with social justice.

“We’re out and together in different ways,” Harris said. “It’s different than typical marches.”

McClain said biking as a method of protesting puts focus on transportation access as well as many black communities in Chicago that have unequal access to reliable public transportation.

“Access is everything,” she said.