AFRICAN AMERICAN RACERS ASSOCIATION LAUNCHES TO  SUPPORT DIVERSITY IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

ROYAL PALM BEACH, FL – The African American Racers Association (AARA) was launched September 1, 2020 by co-founders Christopher Harris and Sinclair Gordon. The AARA is focused on recognizing and promoting African American contributions and spotlighting individuals, businesses and organizations that exemplify equality within the motorsports world.

Open to all races, colors and creeds, AARA is membership based and provides the opportunity to network with people at all levels and in all professions of the automotive industry. Benefits of becoming a member of AARA not only include access to webinars with industry leaders, opportunities for sponsorships and scholarships but over 300,000 member-only discounts across 10,000 cities in categories such as travel, meals and entertainment.

“I am very excited to have partnered up with Sinclair to create the African American Racers Association. There’s a need for this association in the industry to help shed light on the accolades of African Americans and to help create opportunities as well,” said Harris who has over 20 years’ experience volunteering and creating programs in underprivileged communities. “The AARA combines two of my greatest passions, motorsports and grassroots social work.”

“It’s really a privilege to be part of starting the African American Racers Association with Chris. We are only at the beginning. What we hope to do through the AARA is eliminate prejudices through education and opportunity,” said Gordon, who has spent his entire adult life in the automotive industry as a technician, a marketing representative and a racer. “I’ve been around the motorsports community almost all my life. There are definitely some inequalities that need addressing and creating AARA helps to promote equality and collaboration.”

Harris has dedicated numerous hours and resources to philanthropy work. From volunteering with Big Brothers & Big Sisters to co-founding Hands Helping Hands to feed the homeless. While volunteering and pioneering programs for the underprivileged, Chris carried a passion for motorsports. He was formally the General Manager of Palm Beach International Raceway and created the International Roll Racing Association, the worlds first professional roll racing sanctioning body. The AARA combines two of his greatest passions, motorsports and grassroots social work.

With over 15 years of experience in the automotive industry, Gordon has worked his way up from a technician at a local Honda dealership to launching products in Latin America and the Caribbean for Yamaha Latin America to joining Stanley Tools in their Global Emerging Markets division focusing on automotive tools. The automotive industry isn’t just Sinclair’s day job though, he has also participated in motorsports ranging from autocross to roll racing.