The founder of Baltimore’s STEM-infused dirt bike program is pushing for policy change

Part of her intention: showing other Black women and girls that rest is as important as having tires on the ground.

“I finally took a sabbatical and I came in very refreshed,” Brittany Young, founder and CEO of B-360, told Technical.ly.

She wanted to share the message that while Black women and girls can lay important groundwork for change, it’s equally important the demographic take care of themselves.

Young, a retired engineer and alumni of Baltimore Polytechnic Institute who was Technical.ly’s 2023 Tech Community Leader of the Year, first started making use of dirt bike culture in Baltimore to build bridges between youth and STEM opportunities seven years ago.

A few weeks ago, she and her team hosted “B-360 Weekend” to celebrate the milestone of raising $6 million toward its dirt bike campus, which is on its way to a target of $20 million.

Most people don’t realize that B-360’s work extends far beyond programming, Young noted.

“Our direct service program is also helping to reinforce public safety,” Young said. “We’ve been helping to reduce the number of dirt bike riders in the streets, the number of non violent offenders and the number of youth that are involved in the criminal justice system.”

Advocating for safety without criminalization

In Baltimore City, possession of dirt bikes is considered a misdemeanor, and can potentially lead to jail time or fines.

Young and her team are scheduled to speak at Baltimore City Council’s April 10 public safety hearing, describing B-360’s impact to lawmakers, who officially included the organization in their public safety plan

There’s another order of business Young plans to address: She wants Baltimore’s to double down on the belief it demonstrated in her org by entrusting it with some of the bikes seized by police.

“There are hundreds of dirt bikes rotting away in the pound. And those can be used for programming,” Young told me.

The in-kind donation would be a big money saver for B-360. The price of an average dirt bike has increased 143% since the organization started equipping Baltimore’s youth with transferable dirt bike repair skills, according to Young. She believes the cost issue will be exacerbated by Baltimore’s port closure following the Key Bridge collapse.

B-360 is also involved in policy making at the state level.

The org has been advocating for changes in Maryland House Bill 972. As originally written, it would’ve allowed authorities to confiscate a dirt bike solely on suspicion that someone committed a moving violation. A version now moving through the legislature has that “suspected” language stricken, but it’s not yet been approved.

If not passed with the new language, Young believes the legislation will lead to the confiscation of dirt bikes without any concrete evidence of wrongdoing.

“Police can come out and take what I paid for, which is not fair,” said Young. She also noted the bill excludes Baltimore from the option to register dirt bikes.

Chicago bound: Rested and raring to go

Last year, B-360 received a million-dollar grant from Cafe Group in Chicago for its efforts in advancing Black education. Young and her team are to travel to Chicago at the end of April to pilot B-360’s programming there.

None of these achievements would be possible without a sabbatical, Young said, describing it as a crucial break before surviving what she termed a “working women’s March.”

That month, Young participated in nearly 19 panels, among them Mayor Scott’s LeadHErship Summit, which she highlighted as her favorite event during Black Tech Saturdays’ Women’s Month celebration.

While social capital gained from these panels doesn’t always translate into tangible results, Young said, she welcomes the experience: “I’m really big on sharing my own story.”