On Saturday, February 28, we gathered over 100 people on bikes in San Francisco for a powerful celebration of community, trivia, culture, and history for our Bayview Black History Bike Ride. The ride brought together people from across the Bay Area to honor San Francisco Black History from downtown to the Bayview district.
Starting at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Fountain in Yerba Buena Gardens, we welcomed riders with a light snack, coffee, and last-minute touches on their bikes, along with a review of safe riding best practices.
Our first stop was South Park, once a vibrant Black and Filipino neighborhood. It was also home to Mary Ellen Pleasant, known as the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement” in the 1860s. She is widely recognized as the first self-made African American woman millionaire and played an important role in helping desegregate streetcars in San Francisco.
For our second stop, we traveled to the Willie Mays Statue at Oracle Park, where we stopped to discuss the discrimination Willie Mays faced when purchasing a home in Sherwood Forest in 1958. Just a few blocks away, our next stop was the Toni Stone Statue, honoring the first woman to play in the Negro Leagues and played for the San Francisco Sealions.
As we biked along the SF Bay Trail to Crane Cove, we stopped at several additional historical sites where we learned about William Alexander Leidesdorff and Maya Angelou.
.
At the Southeast Community Center, participants on the first portion of the ride had the opportunity to take a brief look at the historical mural inside, which highlights the Black pioneers of Bayview–Hunters Point. Afterwards, participants engaged with trivia questions about these pioneers. From there, we biked along Herron’s Head to India Basin, stopping at the new boathouse, where we were given a short lecture about the programming and history of India Basin, and riders were able to walk along the new boat house. As we left India Basin, we traveled up a short hill, where SFMTA staff cheered and encouraged us as we made our way to our final stop.
The ride ended at the Ruth Williams Bayview Opera House on Third Street, where Executive Director Theo Ellington shared the history of the Bayview Opera House, followed by a neighborhood block party across the street.
After a full day of riding, we were met by Smoke Soul Kitchen, U3Fit, and Tato’s, who made sure participants were hydrated and well fed. The block became a hub of music, trivia, and new friendships, celebrating each other and accomplishing the ride. We are proud to have hosted San Francisco’s first Black History Month Bike Ride, where participants left with knowledge, joy, and an introduction to the Bayview community. In times like these when history is being erased, it is important to host events like this one and remember that bikes are a tool for building community and revolution!
This event would not be made possible without our partners, Livable City, Spokes n Folks, EDOT, The Office of Economic Development, Bike East Bay Valet, and the Bayview Opera House.
