Reintroducing MCM as People for Mobility Justice

Let’s catch up. It’s been a minute. We’re making mobility justice more than a hashtag.

Did you know that MCM got its start as City of Lights/Ciudad de Luces in 2008? As we enter our 10th year of cultivating leaders of color in the LA mobility scene (and sixth year as a project of Community Partners), we have been reflecting heavily on what we can do with our experiences and partnerships to continue advancing transportation equity to better serve our communities.

We felt that mobility justice is the process and outcome we strive for and put into practice, and we’re renaming ourselves as People for Mobility Justice to reinforce that. After years of listening to community members, challenging institutions and systems that exclude their voices, and building partnerships throughout Los Angeles, we know we have to do better together. We learned so many lessons from engaging people on streetscape pilot projects and first/last mile connections to the Blue Line (light rail) to identifying inequities and issues related to bike share. It’s critical that our community members are not only heard but also shape policies, programs, and investments that impact their lives. We’re stepping up, starting with establishing the California Mobility Justice Delegation.

Local work and a statewide effort to bring resources back to us at home

People for Mobility Justice (MCM) facilitated a convening in Leimert Park, Los Angeles, in January for Southern California members of the CA Mobility Justice Delegation. This new delegation is in its early stages of developing a unified effort to influence statewide policymaking to advance racial equity. We reconnected with other members in April at the PolicyLink Equity Summit in Chicago—a powerful and inspirational cross-sector networking and educational space—where we identified effective strategies that deliver better outcomes for communities of color on issues that span housing rights, the fight against mass incarceration, and intersectional immigrant organizing—to name a few.

At the Summit, we stepped out of our transportation bubble to further examine how we could better organize and advocate for pressing issues that go beyond walking and biking. Six MCM team members attended as part of the CA Mobility Justice Delegation, thanks to PolicyLinkCalifornia Walks, and CalBike for sponsoring our convening in Los Angeles and to attend the Summit in Chicago. MCM had the opportunity to introduce the CA Mobility Justice Delegation at PolicyLink’s national Transportation Equity Caucus session, and we invited people to connect with us to define what mobility justice looks like in our state and the roles we each could take in shifting from equity to justice as we envision it as a collective. This is just the beginning.

Like any good conference, the after party is where the real conversations happen. MCM’s Maryann Aguirre a.k.a. DJ Que Madre brought the LA pari (party) to Chicago with sets that delivered the best of Selena, West Coast rap, and Bay Area love at two uniquely Chicago venues. Board member Maria Sipin never misses a beat or an opportunity to motivate and capture her team members’ glow up on camera.

Check out MCM’s latest happenings on Instagram @mcmhandles. Follow our journey. With excellent strategic planning services from Monique Garcia López of Pueblo Planning and creative consulting from Chynna Monaforte, we are defining our organizational priorities while also rebranding ourselves. Stay tuned for a new website in July and an invitation for our relaunch party.

You’re invited to the Sustainable Supper

MCM is bringing mobility justice to students everywhere, starting with an intensive residency with Antioch University Los Angeles’ Master of Arts in Urban Sustainability (USMA). Join us at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 26, for the Sustainable Supper, a USMA tradition that extends this conversation to the community. After we share a meal, there will be panel on mobility justice in Los Angeles anchored by MCM team members, Río (Policy & Programs Organizer) and Dr. Adonia Lugo (Board Co-Chair).

Don’t miss Metro BEST Bike Classes

MCM, Bike SGVCICLE and LACBC have all partnered with Metro to provide free classes geared toward beginners who want to ride bike paths or city streets.

Schedule

  • 4/29 – Bike 3 Street Skills in Altadena
  • 5/6 – Bike 1 Back to the Basics in Long Beach
  • 5/12 – Bike 2 Rules of the Road in Gardena
  • 5/20 – Bike 2 Rules of the Road Long Beach
  • 5/26 –  Bike 3 Street Skills in Gardena
  • 6/10 – Bike 3 Street Skills in Long Beach

Visit the Facebook page and register for these free classes to participate.

Featured bike ride: Los Angeles Pedal.Pulse.Pride

Ride with us on June 2, 2018 for Pedal.Pulse.Pride in Los Angeles, a bi-coastal unity bike ride, presented by Metro Bicycle Education Safety Training (BEST) Program. This event is part of a multi-city ride that will celebrate Pride Month and commemorate those we lost at Pulse Orlando on June 12, 2016, and loved ones everywhere. Join us to uplift the milestones, stories, landmarks, and resources that are creating a more inclusive Los Angeles. The ride will start at Catch One (a short ride from Wilshire/Western and Expo/Crenshaw Metro Stations) and will stop along historical landmarks in Central LA, such as the ONE Archives at the USC Library.

Our ride will be led by members of Queer Trans Intersex Black Indigenous People of Color (QTIBIPOC) communities. We encourage families, friends, supporters, allies, and loved ones to ride with us in solidarity to show support, share resources, and have fun! The first 50 participants to arrive will receive limited edition Pedal.Pulse.Pride bandanas. We will also have helmets, snacks other goodies up for grabs for the early arrivals!

Please register for this free event to participate.

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