Thread by @sahrasulaiman

I wrote this 5yrs ago, but it seems worth revisiting now, as #openstreets advocates continue to speak over those who raise questions about who gets left behind when the needs of those who can't access their streets in the best of times are left out of the conversation.

It's so weird to reread my own words and recognize that a (very tiny) part of me clung to the hope that if I could just lay this out in a way advocates of privilege could understand, they would get it and at some point, we might see a shift in the conversation.

I'd mark any hope I had as officially being buried in early 2017, when I watched L.A.'s bike community rally itself to explain away the racist & otherwise bigoted shenanigans of one of its leaders who was running for city council. But in truth it was dead well before then.

The #openstreets conversation continuing unabated while we're watching youth being punched in the face by NYPD cops who are not wearing masks (or who don't know how to wear them) over concerns about social distancing is one thing...

But having people tell advocates for just and inclusive streets that you hear them bc you are against cops monitoring closed streets is a form of silencing I can't wrap my head around.

You need to know you're not having the same conversation.

Hence the reposting of this story. There's a difference between being against having cops monitoring a closure and actually centering the legacy of police violence in your effort to make cities more just and welcoming to all.
la.streetsblog.org/2015/07/17/man…

And that's just police violence. There are so many other forms of racialized violence that conspire to create barriers to community ownership or unfettered access to the public space for folks of color, and particularly Black folk.

I don't even know where to begin with Ahmaud Arbery - it's too much. I mean, I do know. But the pain is so searing that words escape me.

I should have a more coherent end to this thread. I'm still trying to figure out how to put all of this in an actual story/post, but I haven't been able to. I'm too angry at feeling forced to engage transpo advocates on terms that have zero relevance to the communities I cover.

So I will just engage in bad form by quoting this tweet of mine yet again until I can come up with that post or until advocates of privilege do better. I imagine the former will probably come first.

[And I will just tack this on the end here, it addresses access to the public space from a different angle, and offers a list of stories on the intersection of disenfranchisement, repressive policing, gang violence, and mobility at the bottom.] la.streetsblog.org/2018/05/01/i-c…