Saturday, November 6, 2010
NAACP to act on bus cuts....
According to a recent article in the Post and Courier, the NAACP meeting I posted about did take place last week. I'm not sure who attended since it wasn't publicized. The article states that Dot Scott (the branch president) is going to contact CARTA's director Howard Chapman about the recent cuts in services. Where was the NAACP during the public hearings and board meetings to discuss the options? If the NAACP had rallied it's members before the cuts took effect they might have had some influence. Now I believe it's too little, too late, unless they plan to spend the next year working to reverse the cuts for 2012. Somebody asked me why the NAACP has to make everything about race? Since fifty-percent or more of the bus riders are African-American, doesn't it make sense for the NAACP to get involved? If it will improve services for all passengers I won't quibble about who's using their political clout to make some changes!
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Kathi, I agree that the NAACP should have been involved earlier during the public hearings. Since fifty-percent or more of the bus riders are African-Americans, where were the fifty_percent or less non African-American during the public hearings and board meetings to discuss the options? Where will the carfree movement participation be to help reverse the cuts foe 2012?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment! At the public hearing I attended it was pretty much 50-50 as far as race and gender go. A good mix of professional, blue-collar and minimum wage workers as well. As I posted previously the board meetings and public hearings take place at times and locations that can be inconvenient for bus riders and those of us who are employed. CARTA's board meetings take place on Weds at 2pm. FRAC meetings are sporadic, I think the one I attended was at 5pm downtown. It takes 2 buses and about 1.5 hours for me to travel downtown. If CARTA would hold their meetings/public hearings at the super stop on Cosgrove during the day they would find plenty of people right there willing to voice their opinion! Since those of us who are non African-American don't have a group behind us with the political clout and resources of the NAACP I can't say how much we can do to get the cuts reversed. Blogging, going to meetings and speaking out whenever I can are my contributions.
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