SJ Brooks Scholarship for BIPOC Cyclists now Open

The SJ Brooks scholarship puts bikes and gear in the hands of BIPOC riders in an effort to diversify cycling.

WTF Bike Explorers have opened their SJ Brooks Scholarship, an annual program named after the founder of the Seattle chapter of Friends on Bikes, a group dedicated for those who identify as women, trans, femme, or non-binary. Sadly, Brooks was killed by a mountain lion while riding outside of Seattle two years ago.

The scholarship distributes funds, gear, and bikes to winning applicants. In total, $18,000 will be distributed between 9-18 winners, with each being awarded $1-2,000. Nine recipients will be awarded a bike and camping package that is valued at $3,000 from brands like Blackburn Designs, Chrome Industries, Evo, BikeTiresDirect, Revelate Designs, and Velocio.

The scholarship is only open to those who self-identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, person of color) and are also FTWN-B (femme, transgender, woman, non-binary, intersex, genderqueer).

Nine others will be offered a bike valued between $2-4,000 from either Specialized, Kona, Surly, or Bosch.

Applicants are required to complete a written application, or submit a 1-2 minute audio or video file.

The scholarship opened on August 6 and will remain open until August 27. Apply here.

Interested in donating gear or funding for the program? Email the group at [email protected].