FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 6, 2019
Contact: Rosa Hance rosa.hance@mdsierra.org 240-808-4233
St. Mary’s County Declares February 4th “Transit Equity Day”
Proclamation Recognizes Rosa Parks’ Birthday and Demands Equitable Transit for All
St. Mary’s County, Md., -- On Wednesday, the St. Mary's County Commission issued a proclamation in honor of the 106th birthday of civil rights leader Rosa Parks, February 4th, as Transit Equity Day. Local organizations including the Tri-County All Community Collaborative, Dismantling Racism and Privilege, the Southern Maryland Sierra Club and the St Mary's County NAACP were there to celebrate this commitment to transit equity from the Commission.
“Equitable access to transit is key to both the fight against climate change as well as income inequality and economic injustice,” said Rosa Hance, chair of Sierra Club Southern Maryland Group. “Environmental groups and social justice advocates are joining forces across the country to highlight the importance of transit equity, recognizing that our struggles are deeply connected.”
Longtime community advocate and active chair of NAACP Education Committee Dr. Janice Walthour agrees. “Today St. Mary’s County publicly affirmed that ‘reliable public transit is an essential public service, on par with utilities such as water and electricity and should be accessible to all persons regardless of race, gender, age, religion or socioeconomic status,’” said Dr. Walthour. Her colleague William Hall, President of St Mary’s NAACP adds, “Recognizing that transit is key to social and economic equity is the first step. Now we must act. We’ve got some work to do.”
“Equitable public transit options can reduce the need for road widening and expansion, and allow for reducing spaces for parking. All protects land both in rural and residential areas from becoming paved impervious surfaces,” said Frank Allen President of the Patuxent Tidewater Land Trust (PTLT).
Transit Equity Day, a national event led by the Labor Network for Sustainability, is a unique collaboration between labor, environment and social justice advocates. Transit Equity Day is sponsored and endorsed by organizations including Amalgamated Transit Union, Institute for Policy Studies, Labor Network for Sustainability, NAACP, Partnership for Working Families, Sierra Club, Jobs with Justice, Greenpeace and 350.org.
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Founded in 1892, the Sierra Club is America’s oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization. The Maryland Chapter has over 70,000 members and supporters, and the Sierra Club nationwide has approximately 800,000 members.