Advocates for fairness and opportunity should note a short but key passage from last night’s SOTU:
"We find unity in our incredible diversity, drawing on the promise enshrined in our Constitution: the notion that we are all created equal, that no matter who you are or what you look like, if you abide by the law you should be protected by it; that if you adhere to our common values you should be treated no different than anyone else. We must continually renew this promise. My Administration has a Civil Rights Division that is once again prosecuting civil rights violations and employment discrimination."
Public transportation is turning out to be an early battleground in this stepped up civil rights enforcement...
Advocates for fairness and opportunity should note a short but key passage from last night’s SOTU:
"We find unity in our incredible diversity, drawing on the promise enshrined in our Constitution: the notion that we are all created equal, that no matter who you are or what you look like, if you abide by the law you should be protected by it; that if you adhere to our common values you should be treated no different than anyone else. We must continually renew this promise. My Administration has a Civil Rights Division that is once again prosecuting civil rights violations and employment discrimination."
Public transportation is turning out to be an early battleground in this stepped up civil rights enforcement as described in Angela Glover Blackwell’s Huff Post piece A preview of Obama's "scalpel"?
Local governments now have about 70 million reasons to pay attention to the way stimulus-funded infrastructure projects affect low-income people and communities of color.
In what seems to be a first, the Obama Administration this week announced it’s withholding $70 million from a project that would link a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train station to the Oakland Airport - all because BART did not do an "equity analysis" of how the project would hurt the communities it cut across. This landmark action results from an administrative complaint filed by transit policy experts and community advocacy groups represented by Public Advocates Inc. *
If this is how the Administration uses its "scalpel" to slice into federal spending during its proposed spending freeze, we may be in for a whole new (and more equitable) way of doing business - one that truly responds to the people most impacted.
Why is public transportation a fundamental civil right? In part because low-income workers and workers of color need to be able to travel at a reasonable price to find work during this recession. While ARRA’s millions of stimulus dollars for transportation are vital, they are limited. These funds have to be used wisely and benefits shared fairly.
Capitol Hill Streetsblogger Elana Schor’s piece Oakland’s Stimulus Flap: A Shot Across the Bow for Transport Equity? describes other efforts across the country in which use of stimulus funds is being challenged on civil rights grounds.
Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Administrator Peter Rogoff faces tremendous political pressure to compromise the agency’s civil rights standards in the name of creating jobs. But it is not an either/or proposition. We can have justice AND jobs.
If Rogoff can stand firm and set a high-bar for compliance with Title VI regulations -- and based on his reputation and the Administration's commitment that seems likely -- he will send a clear and unmistakable message: If you receive federal dollars, you must take your civil rights obligations seriously.
$70 million is just the beginning, now that we know for sure Obama is serious in making sure our civil rights laws mean something once again. Stay tuned.
*Full disclosure: I work for Public Advocates (mentioned above) but the thoughts expressed here are my own.
UPDATE: Thanks for the Diary Rescue!