OUR COMMUNITY

I

t took seven days to ride from 
Detroit to Mackinaw City, 
but the third-annual “Ride 
for Equity,
” a charitable bike ride 
raising funding for Black Leaders 
Detroit, was a success.
It raised just over $150,000 
since the most recent update and 
held conversations across the 
state about equity and inclusion, 
many of which took place in rural 
communities.
Black Leaders Detroit, a social 
impact organization that provides 
0% small business loans to qual-
ifying Black entrepreneurs and 
grants to Black-led organizations, 
was heavily inspired by Hebrew 

Free Loan’s 127-year-old blue-
print for interest-free loans.
Founded in 2019, Black 
Leaders Detroit, led by chief exec-
utive officer Dwan Dandridge, 
49, of Detroit, has maintained a 
close relationship with Hebrew 
Free Loan and the larger Jewish 
community. Participating in 
this year’s bike ride were sev-
eral Jewish leaders from Metro 
Detroit, including Hebrew Free 
Loan executive director David 
Contorer.
“I’ve been close friends with 
Dwan for three years, and we’ve 
shared many Hebrew Free 
Loan lessons around 0% loans,
” 

Contorer, 53, of Royal Oak, 
explains. “We are learning a lot 
from BLD around outreach, mar-
keting, social media and technol-
ogy.
”
It’s one of many efforts being 
made within the greater Metro 
Detroit Jewish and Black commu-
nities to build relationships, share 
knowledge and help one another 
succeed.

COMBINING STRENGTH
As to why it’s important to 
develop and nurture both com-
munities, together, Dandridge 
has a simple answer. “I think 
God designed us all to need one 

another,
” he says. “We are con-
nected, and we have so much to 
learn from one another.
”
It’s one of many reasons why 
Contorer and other Jewish com-
munity leaders support Black 
community initiatives, and the 
Black community vice-versa for 
Jewish programming. Dr. Richard 
Keidan, 68, of West Bloomfield 
and longtime Temple Israel 
member, in addition to founder 
and director of Detroit2Nepal 
Foundation, joined the bike ride 
for this cause.
“I chose to get involved in this 
event because I recognize the 
importance of the Black commu-
nity having access to capital in an 
equitable fashion,
” says Keidan, 
who met Dandridge in 2019 
when Black Leaders Detroit was 
preparing to launch.
“Participating in ‘Ride for 
Equity’ was the perfect opportu-
nity to grow all of our relation-
ships — our personal relation-
ships, the relationships between 
[the organizations], and the rela-
tionship between the Jewish and 

Bridging Black and 
Jewish Communities

14 | JUNE 22 • 2023 

377-mile bike ride with Jewish participants raises 
funding for Black Leaders Detroit.

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Ride for Equity cyclists at the Mackinac Bridge finish line on Day 7 
— riding all the way from Detroit

