Pedaling Justice

What is Pedaling Justice? – a  1350 mile tandem ride from Cincinnati, OH to Ferguson MO to New Orleans, LA by Civil Rights Attorney Al Gerhardstein and his daughter, Michigan Law 2L and juvenile justice advocate Jessica Gingold.  The ride will raise funds for two Midwest criminal justice reform organizations, the Ohio Justice & Policy Center (OJPC) and the Children’s Law Center (CLC).

Why “Pedaling Justice?” Because justice is not free.  But together we can earn it.  Our ride is a dialogue with all those struggling for fair treatment on our streets, in our lock ups and in the courts.  Each stroke of our pedals is another push/pull for empowerment and community engagement .

History and Purpose.  Six years ago, Al and Jessica rode their tandem 1200 miles from Mobile, Alabama to Cincinnati, Ohio along the underground railroad bike route. That ride raised money for the Ohio Justice & Policy Center (OJPC), an organization founded by Al Gerhardstein that works for criminal justice reform. This time they will be raising money for both OJPC, which focuses most of its work on adult criminal justice issues, and the Children’s Law Center (CLC) in Northern Kentucky, an organization for which Jessica worked last summer, which has been a leader in reforming juvenile justice issues throughout Ohio, Kentucky, and the country. We ask for your donations to support the good work of these two organizations as we pedal justice across the center of the country. All of the funds will go to the organizations.  We will cover our ride expenses ourselves.

Why ride to Ferguson and New Orleans?   With the events of the past year, the country is waking up to the injustices in our criminal and juvenile legal systems. Ferguson is the birthplace of this renewed movement. We want to go to Ferguson to listen and connect. Al Gerhardstein has been deeply involved with the police reform efforts in Cincinnati and throughout Ohio. He knows how difficult it is to rebuild trust between the community and the police. He will share some of Cincinnati’s challenges and successes so that the two cities might be able to learn from one another. We will then travel south along the Mississippi river to New Orleans by way of Memphis and deliver Jessica to her new summer job at the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights and dialogue with those implementing the DOJ police reform decree in New Orleans.

What’s Next?  Look for our send off in early May.  Follow us virtually.  Learn more about the organizations we are supporting.  Learn more about Justice.  Donate and tell your friends to as well. Ride your bikes and be healthy!