The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into the spotlight the role of “essential” workers — who are disproportionately low-wealth, immigrant and communities of color — and revealed the racialized and ableist gaps in the essential services those workers need to protect their health and meet their daily needs — including safe, reliable public transit. The Alliance’s April 2020 Actualizing Equity event, facilitated by Ricardo Perez, BLC coalition organizer, explored: how do we proactively combat the current and coming attacks on our already dramatically under-funded and inequitable transit system while also boldly asserting the sweeping changes necessary to prioritize the needs of essential workers, people with disabilities and communities of color not just now, but far beyond this current crisis?
Speakers included
- Amity Foster, Twin Cities Transit Riders Union
- Charles Frempong-Longdon, Sierra Club North Star Chapter
- Finn McGarrity, Move Minnesota
- Martin Hernandez, West Side Community Organization, formerly of LA Bus Riders Union
- Nikki Villavicencio, disability rights activist and ADAPT member
bluelinecoalition.org 