Angela Glover Blackwell talks about the connection between transportation and social justice

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Angela Glover Blackwell talks about the connection between transportation and social justice

by Sarah Goodyear
29 Oct 2010 9:51 AM


Angela Glover Blackwell would like to remind you that transportation is a civil rights issue.

Blackwell is the founder and chief executive officer of PolicyLink, "a national research and action institute advancing economic and social equity." Their slogan is "Lifting Up What Works." They believe that the people at the grassroots, closest to the nation's problems, should be a central part of figuring out solutions.

Transportation has emerged as a signature issue for PolicyLink. The group now chairs the newly formed Equity Caucus, part of Transportation for America, calling on federal policymakers to see equity and social justice as a key part of transportation planning.

Blackwell recently was invited to the White House, along with many governors, mayors, and other elected officials, to give her perspective on President Obama's proposed $50 billion infrastructure plan. She was the only public policy advocate to attend.

She talked to us by phone about how she was able to influence the discussion that day, about how public transit cuts are devastating to low-income Americans, and about the central role that transportation policy has always played in the struggle for civil rights.

Q. How was it that you came to be invited to sit at that table with the president?

A. I was thrilled to be invited to the table, and I'm quite sure that the reason that I was invited is because just the week before, PolicyLink and Transportation for America launched the Equity Caucus .

(At) that launch that nearly 200 people attended in the Cannon Office Building, Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) talked about transportation in a way that just made it so real. There were people there who had tears in their eyes, I understand, from listening to him talk about what transportation means to elderly people trying to get around, to mothers trying to earn a living.

I think that (we were invited because of) our focus on people, our focus on equity, our focus on public transportation, and our determination that this issue is too important to be left to transportation professionals. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.grist.org/article/2010-10-29-angela-glover-blackwell-talks-about-the-connection-between-trans