Culture Series: District of Cats
Date and Time
Sep 12, 2024 6:00 pm
Location
Brookland
625 Monroe St NE, Washington, District of Columbia, 20017
Sep 12, 2024 6:00 pm
Brookland
Every year, dozens of cyclists periodically meet up for “alleycats”: unsanctioned scavenger hunts-turned-races sprung by daring local bike couriers onto DC streets. They make for an eclectic, if temporary, community: male, female, nonbinary, queer; old and young; a jumble of races and ethnicities; athletes in spandex and those riding in street clothes. Careening between local landmarks and mini-games that constitute a race, riders compete hard even as they guard each others’ backs while weaving through rush hour car traffic. Once exclusive to the bike messenger community, alleycats have attracted a broader range of cyclists as couriering has become a threatened way of life.
Since their introduction in the 1990s, how has the bike messenger community—and the alleycats they throw—adapted to the social and economic shifts within the District? In an evening conversation with just the right amount of audience participation, the co-curators of the DC Oral History project “District of Cats” will sit with three legends of the DC bike messenger scene to get their thoughts on these and other questions, and a bike’s-eye view of the District as a whole.
ASL Interpretation will be provided.
More About the Curators: Stephanie Bastek is senior editor at The American Scholar magazine, where she interviews prominent and emerging authors for her Smarty Pants podcast. She has been a die-hard bike commuter for her working decade in DC, though she got DFL in her first alleycat race in 2021. Eric Eikenberry has a background in international human rights research, advocacy, and program coordination. His day job is government relations director at Win Without War. When not at work, Eric is, for better or worse, a “weekend warrior” kind of rider, lycra and all, though he does occasionally risk life and limb in a local alleycat race. Together, they co-curated the “District of Cats” project for the DC Oral History Collaborative.
Please note: RSVPs are not required for entry, and entry is based on a first-come, first-serve basis. We appreciate your donations, but please note that if the event reaches capacity, donations will not be refundable.
For reasonable accommodation requests regarding access and inclusion, please contact Jimmy Watkins (jwatkins@humanitiesdc.org) no later than five business days before the start of this event.
