Minami’s Page‼️

My name is Minami and I am a public health and health administration student in New Orleans working to center equity and accessibility in health services. Passionate about breaking systems barriers to equality, I am riding in this journey to challenge myself to do something difficult and to work myself for a cause I believe in.

The NOLA to ANGOLA bike ride lives to serve and learn about the issues of mass incarceration in the United States. We have the highest incarceration rate per capita of any independent democracy on Earth. This is not because Americans are “immoral” or “delinquent,” but rather, victims of a complex system that focuses on punishment over rehabilitation in an environment that surveils systematically to target our Black and Brown neighbors. The incarceration that results affects the downstream through loss of income to family, losses of two-parent households, falsely fortified racist and classist stereotypes, slave labor for corporations like Walmart, and ultimately, loss of life in freedom. For all of the United States citizens that pledge to protect freedom, we do an awful job of it, letting children, brothers, sisters, and parents lose freedom for petty crimes, childhood mistakes, and biased enforcement practices. 

The bike ride I am taking part in will be 170 miles, over three days, and will take me from New Orleans to Angola. This is a route that many take to visit brothers and fathers, and its difficulty is only a temporary testament to the long-lasting struggles of having distant incarcerated family. 300 dollars is the goal for the fundraiser and the other 100 is to help me pay for a road bike that will hold up in this journey.

It’s easy to feel helpless in the grand scheme of systems like ours, but funding programs like the Cornerstone Builders’ Bus Project can help families get the support they need to advocate for themselves. Make a change by donating here and promoting the page to help me help a family in need!