(Photo: Word is Bond)
Perspective is everything. It’s why many bike advocates dream of having leaders who’ve actually ridden a bike, so they intimately understand the issues we face. Perspective is crucial because it forces us to go outside our personal bubbles — something that’s severely lacking in today’s polarized and self-absorbed social-media soaked world.
The new “In My Shoes” program from Portland-based nonprofit Word is Bond is an opportunity to be exposed to the perspective of young Black men. Through a series of upcoming walks that begin next week, the group’s youth ambassadors will share their perspectives on their neighborhoods. It’s a chance for them to take charge of the narrative.
“It’s about telling my story, showing my neighborhood from my perspective exactly, and changing the narrative about my neighborhood,” said 18-year old Mohamed Bullo, a De La Salle North High School student who will lead a walk in the Cully neighborhood in northeast Portland February 12th.