MTA Segregation: Passengers May Not Sit in Deceased Section
NY1 reports that,
“An empty seat, a symbol of resistance, is one of the ways the MTA is honoring civil rights legend Rosa Parks Thursday. The seats directly behind city bus drivers will be left vacant to mark the 50th anniversary of her refusal to give up her place on a segregated Alabama bus, a defining moment for the civil rights movement. An empty seat, a symbol of resistance, is one of the ways the MTA is honoring civil rights legend Rosa Parks Thursday. The seats directly behind city bus drivers will be left vacant to mark the 50th anniversary of her refusal to give up her place on a segregated Alabama bus, a defining moment for the civil rights movement.”
The general problem of remembrance of Rosa Parks is that this type of successful resistance against Jim Crow laws was actually trail blazed in 1944-1945, in the deep southern state of Alaska by a half-Eskimo woman by the name of Alberta Schenck. But she was an identified activist of a much smaller ethnic group, and a democracy prefers the political benefits of glorifying and identifying with the victories of the larger group of underdogs to those of a much smaller one.
But regardless of Ms. Schenk, who admittedly only directly affected change on a state level as opposed to Ms. Parks’ direct influence nationally, it seems this idea has its supporters.
Riders NY1 spoke with Wednesday gave a thumbs up to the move.
“A very good idea. A very good idea,” said one rider. “It’s about time.
Actually, it’s a silly idea, and almost fifty years too late to matter. But more annoying is that it illuminates that the underlying problem that allowed segregation on the buses in the first place still influences the policies of the M.T.A. Not racism, but the abuse of a public utility for political ends, including, at least this December 1st, segregation. Instead of forbidding a black person to sit in a seat reserved for a white person, they are forbidding a live passenger to sit in a reserved spot for a deceased non-passenger. This seat is a spot reserved for the elderly and weak, but that person won’t be allowed to sit there solely because it is perceived as a slight to someone else’s honor. How much has the M.T.A. really learned form Ms. Parks?
It would have been more reasonable to restrict this testimony to a picture of Ms. Parks above the chosen front seat. Removing a much needed seat from utility on every bus is not solidarity, but rather groveling of the worst kind. And though a few other cities are participating in this as well, I have to admit this is absolutely the perfect time for New York to pander in this way.
For the M.T.A. is facing a showdown with the Transport Workers Union’s cunning Trinidadian-American leader, Roger Toussaint, who enjoys the backing of activist Jesse Jackson. A segregated seat for a day will possibly help counteract the racial politics underlying the negotiations between a predominantly black labor union versus a white management, or at least make a greater percentage of New York denizens reluctant to see it in those terms. And indeed, if Toussaint elects to play the race card, there is now a greater chance of backlash, and a greater opportunity for management to call foul.
This seat for Rosa is itself silly and burdensome for today’s bus riders, but it might lessen the ultimate burden to New York taxpayers. One day of one less seat per bus is nothing compared to the inconvenience of a transit strike, or four years of higher taxes to pay for excessive raises, and higher taxes still to pay for other union contracts whose negotiations are influenced and inflated by this contract, and the total budget needed to fund services.
Tomorrow’s sacrifice should not only be seen as honoring Ms. Parks and the civil rights movement, but as backdrop decorum to facilitate acceptance of fiscal restraint, a surprising and unnerving group hug copped before the grueling negotiations. We should remember how graft and appeasement of avarice led to the city’s bankruptcy before a feisty Jewish mayor greeted pedestrians on the bridges, and insisted things could be different. It is our subway and our buses. We all ride them and pay our fare and sit if there’s a seat available, regardless of race.
And we should be able to ride them for a reasonable price.
I just blogged about this over my blog, but not only was Alberta Schenck active in the early fourties, but SO WAS ROSA PARKS. She was kicked off at least 12 buses over the course of MORE THAN A DECADE before she was arrested. Additionally, there were others in Montgomery using her tactics. So I don’t think our society “prefers the political benefits of glorifying and identifying with the victories of the larger group of underdogs to those of a much smaller one,” but is instead always looking for myths and half truths to steer people away from the real lessons to be learned. Rosa Parks was an activist, started serving as the secretary for the Montgomery NAACP IN 1943(!), and when she was arrested in 1955, there was already a plan and a coalition in place to begin the boycott. It’s kinda like how everyone in power loves to quote the “I have a dream” speech but runs into some SERIOUS about any speech of Dr. King after 1965. He was assasinated SUPPORTING A SANITATION STRIKE.
As for the description of TWU President Toussaint and the impending MTA strike, I wonder: have you actually looked at the TWU contract proposals before calling their wage proposal “excessive”? Is it racist to assume Toussaint is going to “play the race card” by merely suggesting he has the backing of another prominent African American leader? Is it racist to assume Toussaint will “play the race card” based on the membership of his union? Were the pay raises of firefighters, police, sanitation, and teachers “excessive”? Because transit workers are as important to the function of this city, and their jobs can be just as dangerous. Further, is our system racist because negotiations are “between predominantly black labor, and exclusively white management”? With all the accounting problems, lost surpluses, perhaps our ire is better turned, not to the people working for a living and looking for decent wages, but to the folks getting paid really well to f&ck up the books and lose our money.
It’s time for our current “feisty Jewish mayor” to get off his tuchus and do the right thing. Especially since he claims to ride the subway.
Ruby K,
I am quite aware that Ms. Parks did not begin her long career of activism with that arrest, anymore than the Alaska Native Brotherhood began theirs with Schenck’s. They offically began in 1912. I was comparing the time line for the respective arrests. Schenck’s was over a decade earlier. Few seem to know that. Glad you do. But Ms. Parks organizing during that period does not erase that fact. Schenck was still first.
I think some of the increased responsibilities the MTA is asking for are reasonable. We will see if they are treated as such.
I am humbly in disagreement with Dr. King’s support of that specific sanitation strike. That was an era of utter capitulation to unions in New York, if only because the useless, teen idol mayor had no idea how to negotiate anymore than he knew how to set policy.
You are correct there are big problems with the M.T.A. They will be fixed when we get rid of Pataki. I have faith that Spitzer will clean house. That is no excuse for carte blanche now.
And I’m not saying Toussaint will play the race card. I am saying that this very silly move with the empty bus seat suggests to me that M.T.A. fears it is a possiblity. I don’t think this fear is completely unwarranted when they are considering every precaution possible to strengthen their bargaining power.
But I guess I am being cynical. Surely the M.T.A. simply felt that this was the right thing to do, because they are such bleeding hearted Leftists not at all concerned with the negotiation deadline in two weeks, a very, very long time from now. I’m sure they aren’t worried about it yet. How dare I consider such a motive. I’m sure it’s all about Rosa.
Actually, in NYC segregation on public transportation was declared illegal thanks to the actions of African American school teacher Elizabeth Jennings, in the mid 19th centuary. There was an article on her in the New York Times Nov. 13, 2005, if you want to read more.
Invoking Jennings would definitely not help strengthen the MTA’s hand.
David,
Wasn’t suggesting you didn’t know Rosa’s early history, or that Alberta wasn’t first, but only that i’m generally infuriated we don’t learn either real deal (or Elizabeth Jennings a full century earlier, good looks, adam) or the full story of most social justice movements in this country. And Alberta’s arrest was earlier, but certainly not for lack of trying on Rosa’s part. 🙂
I’m curious about your problem with Dr. King’s support for sanitation workers in Memphis when he was assasinated.
I guess I got the tone of your post wrong, it seemed to me at the time you were pre-emptively taking TWU and Toussaint to task for fighting for a better contract. Fiscal responsibility is all well and good, but it often seems to come at the expense of the people who make things work, and its too often the tagline of someone not interested in giving back any of their fat paycheck.
You’re right though, I’m sure the MTA felt the power of the struggle and truly wanted to honor her. Kinda like, as a friend of mine noted a few weeks back, “Alito nominated over Parks’ dead body.”
That, or maybe I shouldn’t post at 3am after walking a picket line all day.
Ruby K,
I bungled my reading of your point — perhaps equally because of the late hour. Fogive me – that sanitation strike Memphis was as far as I know for very good reasons. I was referring to the New York sanitation strike in the 60’s which wasn’t necessary, and was part of why unions lost northeast support, and part of why I hate this guy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J…
I don’t blame TWU for fighting for a better contract, but I don’t blame the MTA either for wanting to make a strike seem like as bad an option as possble.
You wrote,
“Fiscal responsibility is all well and good, but it often seems to come at the expense of the people who make things work, and its too often the tagline of someone not interested in giving back any of their fat paycheck.” Frequently, yes, but that isn’t always true, and hasn’t been true for New York City, and while there are major problems with the M.T.A’s books, and that foylashtick with holiday cuts in fares (wtf?), I don’t think that’s what we are looking at, and prefer to fire the Governor and Kalikow. The M.T.A. is not Walmart, and has not treated its people like that, and should not be viewed with the suspicion of exploitation you are describing, in my opinion.
David,
It’s true the MTA’s not Wal-Mart. It’s also true we went through this with them and TWU a few Decembers ago. As for my general suspicion of employers, hell that’s just me. 🙂 But after watching the transportation industry in general the last four years, and particularly the “oops, we lost the money, now we have to cut wages, numbers of employess AND raise fares” bungle of a few years ago, it’s tough not to be skeptical. Especially since the holiday fair cuts include giving away free 10 trip off peak tickets to every single monthy pass buyer, which will be hundreds of thousands of dolllars in giveaways.
Ah, good to know stopping me from the evil that is my morning coffee is as important to the MTA as these contract negotiations.