Ohio bike shop offers refuge and community to Mauritanian immigrants

Lockland had for decades been home to a small population of West Africans who’d come to Ohio in the 1990s because of political and racial oppression in Mauritania. The government was executing and exiling Black citizens; some had escaped slavery.

One evening in 2023, Wilson arrived to teach an English class at a Christian-run center next to his bike shop.

Instead of the group of a dozen or so West Africans he’d known for years, 160 people were lined up around the building.

Down the street, the lobby at a food and clothing pantry was packed, another line stretching out the door. No one spoke English, and the volunteers didn't know where they'd come from.

The pantry, Valley Interfaith Community Resource Center, quickly recognised the men's conundrum. They asked if the men would like to volunteer there. They couldn't pay them but could offer leftover food or clothing.

Many showed up every morning, unloading pallets of potatoes, working the front desk, helping others who came for food.

Wilson couldn’t go anywhere without seeing these men walking around.

He mapped out their needs — their apartments, English class, the food pantry, grocery store — and realised they were walking miles a day.

He was well-connected in the city’s bike culture. He put out a request for people to donate old, unused bikes, piled a few into the back of a pickup truck and took them to the apartment complex where the men lived.

As he unloaded them to see if anyone was interested, dozens came out.

So he got more donated, broken bikes and some tools.

He said anyone who wanted one could come — if they helped fix them up, they could have them. Many arrived, far more than he could manage.

The bike shop becomes a gathering place for the community. “Surprisingly, you just walk in the bike shop, you meet somebody who, you know, never expected to be here in America,” said Khalidou Sy.

More people showed up every week. Many who’d already gotten a bike returned, to offer help and to ask for it. They had paperwork they needed to fill out: immigration papers, Social Security documents.

“So, the name of the shop comes out of that, it's called Bikes and Stuff,” Wilson said.