Lyft News

Pushing Forward at Lyft

Zachary Kizer - Feb 1, 2021

History has shown us time and time again that even through the worst adversity, Black people rise with resiliency and continue to push forward in the name of justice and equality. Last year, we witnessed an awakening in our country—that exposed the systemic racial inequities which have existed for far too long—and we put out a call to action for every individual to acknowledge and take responsibility for contributing to a more equitable America. 

At Lyft, we’ll continue to do our part in breaking down barriers to access while striving for greater equity, racial justice, and allyship. This Black History Month, we invite you to push forward with us. 

Black History Month is a time to celebrate the achievements and contributions of the Black community while honoring the many Black and African Americans whose sacrifices allow us to persevere today. Lyft was built on the idea of community — a community that gets stronger when the voices of all its members are represented. Through continued representation and storytelling we are committed to amplifying the Black voices within Lyft and across the communities we serve in order to push forward. 

At Lyft, we have a unique opportunity to break down an unfair disadvantage that does not receive a lot of attention— the unequal access to affordable and efficient transportation. We continue to use our superpower to provide equitable access to transportation and have partnered with the Human Rights Campaign to launch transportation access grants to trans people of color.  

Lyft’s Community Engagement Team also launched a Black Driver Community Circle, led by Malcolm McFarland, consisting of highly engaged Black Drivers from across the country.  The aim of this iterative, 3-part pilot series is for Black Drivers to build community,  and share their experiences related to racial discrimination on and off the Lyft platform.

While we acknowledge that progress has been made, the past year showed us just how deeply systemic racism runs, and the urgency with which we must push forward for a country where Black lives are protected, valued, and matter in every way. 

Please keep an eye out for Lyft’s fireside conversation with Illinois’ first Black speaker of the House, Emmanuel ‘Chris’ Welch and Cook County State’s Attorney, Kim Foxx later in the month. A recording is available here.