Racism Is Driving This Bus
Posted by Michelle Moquin on August 15th, 2013
Good morning!
Are you sick yet of the racism that continues to be displayed by people in our country? Here’s yet another example. These days, they aren’t hard to find.
A write from my latest fave online news, Think Progress:
Mostly-White Ohio Suburb Fighting To Prevent Mostly-Black Bus-Riders From Entering Community
A lily-white Ohio suburb is doing everything it can, including risking millions in federal highway funding, to keep mostly minority bus-riders from a nearby city from entering their community.
The showdown began in 2010 when the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority proposed adding three new bus stops in Beavercreek, a largely white suburb 15 minutes east of Dayton. These new stops would give Dayton bus-riders access to Beavercreek’s major shopping mall and nearby businesses, as well as a medical clinic and Wright State University.
Facing the prospect of buses coming in from Dayton, the Beavercreek City Council began enacting as many hurdles as they could to stop the new bus stops. Among the dozen roadblocks included mandating that bus shelters included heated and air conditioning as well as high-tech surveillance cameras, features that would be hugely expensive and are not common at other stops. Unsurprisingly, these demands couldn’t be met and the council rejected the expansion. “We turned downed an application because they didn’t meet our (design) criteria,” Beavercreek City Councilman Scott Hadley explained to Eye On Ohio.
Many in the area argue that their opposition boils down to a simple reason: race. According to the 2010 census, 9 in 10 Beavercreek residents are white, but 73 percent of those who ride the Dayton RTA buses are minorities. “I can’t see anything else but it being a racial thing,” Sam Gresham, state chair of Common Cause Ohio, a public interest advocacy group, told ThinkProgress. “They don’t want African Americans going on a consistent basis to Beavercreek.”
A civil rights group in the area, Leaders for Equality in Action in Dayton (LEAD), soon filed a discrimination lawsuit against Beavercreek under the Federal Highway Act. In June, the Federal Highway Administration ruled that Beavercreek’s actions were indeed discriminatory and ordered them to work with the Dayton Regional Transit Authority to get the bus stops approved without delay.
Beavercreek, though, isn’t particularly keen to do that. The city council voted most recently on Friday to put off consideration of the matter until later this month. They are weighing whether to appeal the federal ruling, or perhaps whether to just defy it altogether. Appealing the ruling could cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, according to a Washington D.C. lawyer the council hired. However, non-compliance with the ruling could cost Beavercreek tens of millions of dollars in federal highway funds.
The city council has until September 11, 2013 to begin complying with the Federal Highway Administration order. They will meet again on August 12 to decide how to proceed.
Gresham, for one, is flabbergasted that the council would even consider risking millions of dollars in federal highway funds. “Their worldview and logic are two entirely separate things,” he said.
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Readers: Once again, racism takes the lead at the expense of others. Whats your view? Blog me your opinion. I promise there is no censoring here.
Peace out.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
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michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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August 15th, 2013 at 9:46 pm
Ym,
I miss you so much. I had no idea you were going to be gone from me for so long. My heart aches for you. My body yearns for your touch. I miss the feel of you in my arms. Please come home soon. I love you.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:07 pm
Why do you think DC Metro doesn’t go to Georgetown?
Or MARTA rapid rail to Cobb County?
If you said “race”, you win.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:09 pm
I’m a WASP and proud of it. And if I lived in a multi-million dollar home, I’d want to keep the niggers out, too. Hell, I don’t want it in my middle-class neighborhood (and no, I’m not part of a neighborhood watch).
Georgetown on party nights can be a pretty volatile mix — white, black, brown, suburbanites, city kids, military, tourists, you name it.
A non-WASP friend and his non-WASP partner live near 34th & O, and I don’t blame them one bit for wanting to protect their home and ‘hood. Lucky bastards, they’ve owned since around 1984. Cha-ching!
August 16th, 2013 at 1:11 pm
I haven’t been in a good ten years, but when I did it was 97% white… and what’s worse is all the men wore long sleeve shirts with baggy shorts. I felt as if I had landed on another planet.
I think you only see that kind of non mix mix at private parties in NYC, LOL.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:12 pm
I think it’s a pretty fair assumption. I knew exactly what this story was referring to without even opening it.
You have to admit that SW Ohio isn’t exactly the bastion on progressive thought in Ohio. And I am speaking as a native Daytonian. And the insular attitude of Greene County isn’t surprising, either.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:12 pm
Try getting to Princeton NJ sometime.
It’s a royal pain in the ass and the reason it’s such a pain in the ass is that the people in the Princeton area don’t want to make it too easy for those on the turnpike to find it.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:14 pm
Michelle, my kids were born in that area. There is a bus line that takes you from the Calhoun Street Bridge location (the heart of urban Trenton blight) to downtown Princeton’s Witherspoon Street and then to PMC.
The placement of Princeton and the NJTPK’s exit 7A, 8 & 9 and the roadways getting there have no relationship to anything. You either drive up Route 1 to New Brunswick’s Exit 9 when going north.
You drive through Pennington and the Windsors to get to Highttown’s Exit 8A or you hop on I-295 South and either get on Exit 7-A to go south or you just stay on 295.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:15 pm
Same kind of thing happened in a Cincinnati suburb where I worked for a while. Lots of buses ran in the AM taking commuters to their jobs in downtown Cincinnati and late in the PM taking them home.
However, none ran in the AM from downtown which would’ve allowed center city people to go to jobs in the suburb (which included King’s Island theme Park with lots of jobs for low-skilled people) or in the PM that would take people from a job in the suburb to their homes in the center city.
Structural segregation. It continues.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:17 pm
Sam#6:
It’s a pain in the ass only because those little towns were all built up long before the turnpike was built, so the roads weren’t designed to fit with it. There was no big conspiracy in Princeton to keep people from the turnpike out.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:18 pm
The placement of the NJTPK was done for efficiency as designing it to venture near Princeton wasn’t feasible.
There are bus routes to From Trenton/Hamilton/Lawrence Twp./Lawrenceville to Princeton and from New Brunswick to Princeton. Route 1 is just a couple miles away from their downtown area so driving there isn’t a hard either
August 16th, 2013 at 1:19 pm
I feel extremely comfortable there. The problem for me is 206 and trying to get through the bottleneck of Hillsborough from Somerville/Bridgewater. And do Republicans even TRY to run in Princeton anymore?
August 16th, 2013 at 1:20 pm
Michelle, I’ve often thought this about the bus routes in Columbus.
The routes and schedules seem designed to help the suburbs get downtown to work, but they don’t make it easy for lower income people to get to richer areas to work or shop. COTA routes seem racist to me.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:21 pm
Greene County, Ohio
Anyone see a trend here?
Auditor: David Graham (R)
Coroner: Kevin L. Sharrett, M.D. (R)
Engineer: Robert N. Geyer (R)
Prosecutor: Stephen K. Haller (R)
Recorder: Eric C. Sears (R)
Sheriff: Gene Fischer (R)
Treasurer: Dick Gould, CPA (R)
Common Pleas Judge: Hon. Stephen A. Wolaver (R)
Common Pleas Judge: Hon. Michael A. Buckwalter (R)
Domestic Relations Judge: Hon. Stephen L. Hurley (R)
Juvenile Court Judge: Hon. Robert W. Hutcheson (R)
Probate Court Judge: Hon. Robert Hagler (R)
County Commissioners: Tom Koogler (R), Alan Anderson (R), and Bob Glaser (R)
U.S. Representative for Ohio’s 10th congressional district, including Greene County: Michael Turner (R)
August 16th, 2013 at 1:22 pm
The racist donut of counties around Atlanta have prevented mass transit for decades.
The irony is that African-Americans, Latinos, and Asians are being priced out of the city… and into the red, red suburbs.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:22 pm
I knew even before I opened this where this mall is at.
I used to live close by. It is definitely a racial thing. That is why the mall is where it is — it is inaccessible by public transportation. This was in reaction to problems at the Dayton Mall, south of the city, and accessible by bus.
The good people in Beavercreek want to keep the great unwashed out of their fine community, is all. This has been going on almost since the Mall at Fairfield Commons opened.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:23 pm
Michelle, this latest news from post-racial america further proves that a segment of the white population in america has not evolved very much since the 1800′s.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:24 pm
I see those damn southerners are up to the same old shit!
Wait a minute, thats in the north, Dayton Ohio, not what most would call an extension of the south. Move on nothing to see here!
August 16th, 2013 at 1:26 pm
HP#13, All I see is an potential arrest and mental institution inmate list. For these (R) morons.
(R) morons named Stephen, Robert and Richard from Ohio can go immediately to the nearest state santiorium and remain there until their deaths.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:27 pm
HP#13, I see a trend.. the (R) stands for rabid
August 16th, 2013 at 1:29 pm
OH#14, I’ve seen some of this, Atlanta inner city looks very upscale compared to LA or KC.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:31 pm
David#18:
Pretty scary, isn’t it? The county of Stepford citizens. I also looked up the median income for Beavercreek. Sheesh! It’s about 3 times that of my home county.
Of course, I come from Appalachian Ohio, from the kind of folks these people would call “river rats”. I’m sure they wouldn’t want us hillbillies dropping by, either. Too rich for my blood.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:32 pm
I lived in atlanta in the late 90s and remember those debates vividly…
August 16th, 2013 at 1:32 pm
The transportation system in the metro Atlanta suburbs sucks. I live in Woodstock just northwest of Atlanta. And the closest bus depot is in Kennesaw about 5 miles from my area.
The next closest one is in Marietta about 10 miles away. If you don’t have a car, you are screwed or you could take a taxi, which is not cheap. I live in the red, red suburbs and I see Hispanics depending on bicycles for transporation.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:34 pm
Andy#15:
I think most of it is racism, but after finding out the median income of Beavercreek, I suspect they don’t want poor people of any color stopping by long enough to wave.
After all, only the poor take public transportation, in their opinion, and most of those poor are going to be minorities.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:39 pm
You know what’s really sad and ironic? SW Ohio used to be a hub for the Underground Railroad. I can’t say what happened to turn the land of the Revs. Rankin and Gilliland and Harriet Beecher Stowe into the fascist homeland for the likes of John Boehner and Jean Schmidt.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:41 pm
Horace, that brings up another point not everyone supported the end of slavery or civil rights for black people. These same forces are in the GOP today.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:42 pm
Nicole#26, actually the Republican Party got worse. They were the better party with regards to slavery and civil rights of the 60′s.
I don’t know what the heck change with the Party of Lincoln and the party that fought that Democratic Government in Alabama who refused to allow black students in schools. The Democratic party has improved 100 percent over those times and that is why I am so proud of us today.
However, history was not great for Democrats. Luckily that has changed today.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:47 pm
I’m questioning that white community’s sanity thinking and their commitment toward this country. America is moving towards being more diverse.
They better learn how to accept the inevitable that America’s children are more liberal and more progressive than ever. They already consider racism as very unacceptable.
Although these bigots attempt to raise their children to be as racist as they are some are resist their parents’ encouragement of being racist.
These ‘white-only’ communities will be considered second-class citizens in less than 20 years if they don’t change.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:48 pm
I live in Beavercreek. And I have repeatedly avowed that if I were one of those people, and wanted to come to the malls to commit crimes ( of course ). I’d want to use the bus for my getaway.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:52 pm
Yolanda#27, for the umpteenth time, we all know that the republi con party was different many moons ago. We know that the democrats housed a bunch of bigots. And we also know that is in fact ancient history and has nothing to do with the realities of today.
Because…We know all the dixiecrats (and other racists) joined the republicon party because of civil rights and integration. Ergo, it is ridiculous to make claims that even moderates in the republicon party today REMOTELY resemble the party of lincoln.
CLEAR?
Thanks.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:53 pm
Yeah they say it’s about crime, but as you show, that doesn’t really hold up. It’s more about not wanting people who rely on buses for their transportation to be able to live in your community.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:54 pm
My dad was in the USAF and we lived in Beavercreek when I was in high school. I went to HS at Beavercreek HS. This story has me so ashamed, but given how white the community was, and how conservative/fundie/teabaggerish even back in the early 70s, it’s no surprise.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:55 pm
Someone should threaten to provide a free charter bus from downtown Dayton to their neighborhood!
August 16th, 2013 at 1:55 pm
Oh yeah, I’ve seen this before. When I hear people don’t want public transportation to expand to their neighborhood, it usually seems racism and/or classism are the cause of it.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:56 pm
anti bus..anti apartments = fear
fear of “the other”..
That’s what suburbia was built on..
People “say” they fear for property values & crime..but deep down it’s tribalism & fear of the other.
August 16th, 2013 at 1:57 pm
Why does it seem a point cannot be made about racial or economic desparity on your blog Michelle without resorting to disparaging all “white” people?
August 16th, 2013 at 1:59 pm
I’ve never seen anyone disparage “all” white people on Michelle’s blog.
I have seen many, including myself, upset with the attitudes of SOME or most (R) honkies, though.
August 16th, 2013 at 2:01 pm
Sonja, You do see the irony in your post, correct? I find myself 2/3 of the way through a post by someone making an excellent point, and then I completely tune-out when the frat-house racial fluff gets thrown in.
I have a feeling that I am not alone, but that people tend not to get involved in countering this strange new DU sub-culture.
I have a feeling that is not how you speak in a real-life political discussion. Something about the internet just brings it all out…
August 16th, 2013 at 2:11 pm
Susan lack of empathy from whites like you is the problem. Racism to you is just “house fluff.” That’s because you aren’t the victim.
The other problem with narcissistic whites like you (not all white are narcissistic), is that you tend to see only your pain. I.E. the pain of hearing yourself being called a racist is more painful to you than it is to the victims that have to undergo the physical and psychological abuse they receive from racists.
We OTWS endure the sticks and stones of racism not just the words.
Here on Michelle’s blog we get to express our feelings in words so that we don’t have to act them out violently.
You in your narcissistic self aware state wish to deny us even that by claiming you can’t have a “real-life political discussion” because we are pointing out to you that your race’s racism is the cause of the topic of our discussion.
I don’t see this as “Something about the internet just brings it all out…,” I see it as racism being expressed and observed on the internet.
August 20th, 2013 at 4:55 pm
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