Former Rap City host and HIV/AIDS activist Big Tigger will hit the streets for a good cause as he prepares for the annual Big Tigger’s HIV/AIDS Ride for Life.
More than 1,000 motorcycle riders and 84 motorcycle clubs are expected for the event, which takes place Sept. 30 in Washington DC and will feature appearances from Washington DC Mayor Adrian Fenty and DC Council members Marion Barry and Kwame R. Brown as well motorcycle clubs such as the Chocolate City Divas and Platinum Rollers.
The goal of Big Tigger’s HIV/AIDS Ride for Life is to increase awareness about HIV/AIDS and its effect on the community as the condition’s presence grows in communities of color and people under the age of 25.
Washington DC currently holds the record for the highest HIV/AIDS rate in the country. Nearly 70% of the infected Washington DC residents are African American.
“More people are living with HIV and AIDS today than ever before; which requires a call to action for increased awareness,” Ride for Life host Big Tigger said in a statement, adding that the event is designed to “showcase our concern about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in our community.”
Big Tigger’s HIV/AIDS Ride for Live is presented by the WPGC 95.5 FM afternoon drive host’s Street Corner Foundation, an organization committed to increasing public awareness of HIV/AIDS by funding educational initiatives targeting prevention as well as improving the quality of life for youth by supporting programs that focus on literacy and self-esteem.
Registration and staging for the Ride for Life will begin at 11 a.m. at RFK Stadium in Washington DC. The official ride will follow at 2:15 pm with riders taking the event route into Maryland and ending at Rosaryville State Park.
The Ride for Life will be capped off with a grand finale event that will include a cookout, entertainment and a motorcycle raffle.
The motorcycle benefit ride is the latest endeavor for Big Tigger, who was recognized as the 2005 recipient of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators’ Visionary award for his “inimitable presence in the HIV/AIDS arena as an ambassador of good health.”