Buses may be Integrated, but Problems Plague Transit System
With yesterday’s 60th anniversary of the start of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute hosted a panel to mark Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat to a white man. But the talk didn’t stay focused on history. It quickly turned to the present, particularly the problems plaguing Birmingham’s buses.
“Where are we? Have we made any gains?” wondered Ahmad Ward, vice president of education for the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. “[We are] looking at access to transportation as a civil right.”
Ward told stories from his own family about how life without a car in Birmingham is difficult and exhausting.
The auditorium was packed with bus riders and community activists, and the panel discussion became an open forum for riders airing grievances. They told stories of hours-long commutes and buses that breakdown.
“Transportation is a quality of life issue,” Georgette Norman, the former director of the Rosa Parks Museum at Troy University, interjected. She explained that Montgomery faces many of the same issues as Birmingham. While the protests of the 50s and 60s integrated buses, parks, and schools, oppression and inequality remain, Norman said.
“Our reform has been superficialized,” Norman said. “We have to get back to the whole idea of human rights. Does it matter that I can walk into any restaurant sit down and be served if I don’t have the price of the meal?”
Or, Norman continued, does it matter if buses are integrated if they can’t get you anywhere? For these Birmingham residents the answer seems to be no.
Aryna Sabalenka beats Jessica Pegula to win her first US Open
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus got past American Jessica Pegula to win her first U.S. Open women’s title and third career Grand Slam title.
一位高调批评中共的异议人士会设下骗局吗?
一位广为人知的中国共产党批评者现在被指欺诈
All Things Considered for September 7, 2024
Hear the All Things Considered program for Sep 07, 2024
Proposed Midwest carbon capture pipeline is stirring controversy
In recent years, there have been lots of proposals for new carbon dioxide pipelines tied to a technology called carbon capture and storage. It's an effort to blunt the impact of climate change. A proposed pipeline in the Midwest would be one of the country's largest designated for carbon capture.