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