Throughout American history, traveling while Black has been a focal point of racial justice. Today, this conversation continues through the idea of transit equity. We as a nation recognize Transit Equity Day on February 4th to commemorate the life and legacy of Rosa Parks on the day of her birthday.
As a key figure in the Civil Rights era, she has been honored as the “first lady of civil rights” and the “mother of the freedom movement”. Today, we want to expand on the valiant legacy of Rosa Parks by telling a story of transit equity that came 100 years before her.
The conversation surrounding transportation equity is incomplete without hearing from disadvantaged communities such as low-income members of society, people with disabilities, and Black andBIPOC(Black, Indigenous, People of Color)communities.
What is Transit Equity?
Transportation equity is the idea that no matter your race, gender, income, age, or location, public transit is a civil right that should be safe, accessible, affordable, and environmentally sustainable.
In order to achievetransit equityaround the U.S.,residentsneed to be providedwith proper resources, tools, and opportunities for economic growth.In terms of transit, funding public transportation systems is key to community advancement.
Transit Equity Day, celebrated on February 4th, commemorates the life and legacy of Rosa Parks and the key role she played increatingthe ideals behind transportation equity.We are able to take all the positive changes we have made, and develop them further to make transit systems better for those who have historically been left out.
Combatting Climate Change
Not only is public transit a connection between communities and economic abundance, but a strategy to combat climate change. This creates a great need for low-income and primarily Black communities to receive abundant resources for equitable and accessible transit systems.
Transit equity requiresstakeholdersand industry leadersto pinpoint where the needs are the greatest, and to do what’s necessary to meet those needs. If weare planning for the people who are the most marginalized, then everyone in between benefits, too.
Recognizing the link between economic, environmental, and health issues is key to beginning to achieve transit equity. The disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on people of color has been heightened by institutional policy and planning that leaves out low-income communities from the real benefits of thriving public transit systems.
Our Role
To advocate and fight fortransit equity, members of the transportation industry like ourselves must create space to prioritize community voice, and center on processes that achieve positive outcomes.
AsVernā Myers, VP of Inclusion Strategy at Netflix put it, “Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.”
In her youth,Edwina ‘Curlie’ Justuswas the only Black student in her entire elementary school.She would go on to defy what anyone ever thought a Black woman could bein oursociety, andbecome the first Black female locomotive engineer at Union Pacific Railroad.
Defying Expectations
Born in 1943 in Omaha, Nebraska, Justus was always a dreamer.Living inan unsupportive world,everything she achieved came down to pure resilience andhard work. When she washired at Union Pacific as an office clerk in 1973, she was one of five black women working for the Omaha office.
Always described as bubbly, pleasant, and hardworking, Justus endured the cruel face of racism on a daily basis at her place of work. NickAloi, a former employee at the same time as Justus, was interviewed forNebraska Stories, and said “She had two strikes: She was a woman, and she was Black.”
Justuswouldrecount the things she heard coworkers say about her both directly, and when they thought she wasn’t around. But against all odds, she kept her head held high andmoved forward. Within a couple years with Union Pacific, Justus was promoted to the position of traction motor clerk where she would keep track of repairs. “I didn’t even know what a traction motor was,” she recalled. Her drive and intellect boosted her up in the company and she adapted to every challenge thrown her way.
Making History
In 1976, Justus became the company’s first African American female locomotive engineer. For this position, she moved to North Platte, a town of 22,000 people, where less than 100 people were Black.
Justus knew she was making history. “From the very first department I was ever in, most of the guys and the women too had never been close enough to a Black woman to touch,” she said. “I changed every department that I went into.”
A Timeless Inspiration
By the time she left Union Pacific in 1990, the workforce looked very different compared to the barriers Justus had to cross. To this day, this railroadcompany, founded by Abraham Lincoln in 1862, commits itself to inclusion and diversity, and reflecting America in their work.
Still an inspiration to young Black women today, Edwina Justus still resides in Omaha, NE. In 2017, Justus spoke at the Union Pacific Railroad Museum on a Saturday afternoon during a Black History Month event. Her advice on this day was the same as what her younger self would have said: “Never stop daydreaming.”
Black history is still being made every day in the United States. For this week’s Black History Month blog post, we’d like to look at racial diversity and its place in outdoor recreation, specifically biking and running. Two environmentally sustainable modes of transportation and exercise, these activities may seem trivial to some. But for Black Americans, there are still glass ceilings to shatter within these communities.
Cycling
It seems that there is a prevalent lack of racial diversity in outdoor recreational sports. But you would be surprised to learn that the Outdoor Industry Association’s 2019 Participation Report shows that 26.3% of outdoor participants were BIPOC, with Black Americans above any other ethnic group. This brings us to the actual problem: A historic lack of representation.
Whether you notice it or not, cycling is often depicted in the lens of a particular class: white, cisgender, and able-bodied people. How do we break through the exclusive perspective that cycling has taken on?
We can start by sharing the mission of diverse groups in the cycling community that are creating inclusive spaces for Black cyclists. The All Mountain Brothers are part of the movement to diversify the outdoors with their BIPOC mountain biking group. Black Girls Do Bike are creating a community of Black women who share the passion of cycling. Diversify Outdoors is a group who works to promote diversity in all outdoor spaces for BIPOC, LGBTQIA, and any other identity that has been underrepresented.
Running
When a Sunday afternoon in Brunswick, GA, became a day of tragedy, the black running community mourned together for Ahmaud Arbery. On February 23, 2020, the 25-year-old young man was pursued by armed men and killed while on his daily jog.
The death of this innocent Black man highlights the terrifying reality for many Black Americans, not just those who run. But for the diverse community known as F.E.A.R., this heightened a daily threat for these runners. F.E.A.R., Forget Everything And Run, is an organization of young professionals with a passion for health, fitness, socializing, and running, who have paved their own space in the running community for Black and POC athletes in a predominantly white community.
Created in 2016, F.E.A.R. has since been recognized on Today, The Run Wave Podcast, Runner’s World, and more. Headquartered in Milwaukee, F.E.A.R. centers their mission on bridging the gap in the running community and building relationships. “Diversity is key and making sure all runners, especially minority runners, are represented.”
Representation Matters
Representation in these sustainable modes of transportation and pieces of a healthy lifestyle is so important. Cycling brings issues of economics and class: the cost barrier to buy a bicycle, the lack of safe bike routes and lanes in cities and towns, and overall, the discriminatory history of the activity.
Luckily, there are organizations popping up in local communities helping to close the gap in accessibility to bikes. In our own community, there are bike shops that collect donated bikes, refurbish them, and even provide training on fixing them, like BiCi Co. in Hartford, CT, and Bradley Street Bicycle Co-Op in New Haven.
As Black Americans reclaim their power and place in the cycling and running communities, they are showing the Black youth in our country that they are welcome, they are worthy, and they part of the shift in ending racism in outdoor recreation.
How can we fit a lifetime of history, accomplishments, and innovation into a single month? We make the most of every day. We do our part to teach, learn, and spread appreciation for those who may not have been respected or recognized in the past based on the color of their skin.
We must, as a nation, speak on the too-often overlooked achievements and contributions from Black Americans throughout history. We want to start Black History Month off by recognizing two inventors who altered the transportation industry and helped to innovate the sector as we know it today.
Granville T. Woods: First Telegraph Service for Moving Trains
Granville T. Woods registered nearly 60 patents in his lifetime and was a gifted engineer and inventor. From his teenage years, Woods worked a variety of jobs in the railroad industry—the area of work that would hold the key to his future.
Among Woods’ numerous inventions, the one that goes down in history as his most important is the induction telegraph. Created in 1887, this device allowed people to communicate over telegraph wires on moving trains, helping to speed up communication and go on to prevent train accidents and control other crucial errors.
Woods was proclaimed “the greatest electrician in the world” in his lifetime. He sold patents to some of the most famous inventors in history, like Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison. Edison actually battled Woods over patents multiple times and lost each case.
(Photo: Courtesy of The Booklovers Magazine, 1903)
Garrett Morgan: The Three-Light Traffic Signal
It’s hard to imagine driving without traffic lights to tell us to stop, go, and slow down. Until Garrett Morgan’s invention, the common traffic light only had ‘stop’ and ‘go’ signals. In the city of Cleveland, Ohio in 1923, Morgan hatched the idea of including a warning light after witnessing an awful carriage accident at an intersection.
Morgan's original patent drawing, 1923
The first black man in Cleveland to own a car, Morgan was more than just an inventor. He was a local hero, and a diligent activist for social and racial issues of his time. We urge you to read up on his fascinating life, especially how he became recognized as a hero for his invention of the gas mask and his contribution in the Lake Erie Rescue of 1916.
Can you begin to picture how many lives have been saved since Morgan’s invention of the traffic light? This innovation made life substantially safer for both motorists and pedestrians alike, and is still built upon today.
(Photo: Courtesy of the Department of Transportation)
