Why Transportation Funding Is a Civil and Human Rights Issue

The following is excerpted from a new report by The Leadership Conference Education Fund entitled “Where We Need to Go: A Civil Rights Roadmap for Transportation Equity“(April 2011).

This year, Congress will consider the surface transportation reauthorization bill, allocating a significant investment of federal dollars to repair our aging infrastructure and expand it to meet the needs of our 21st-century economy. Budget limitations will mean intense competition among projects—and the next investment in transportation will have a profound impact on every American.

Our transportation policy has the potential to expand economic opportunity for low-income Americans and underrepresented workers by connecting them to highway, transit, and rail construction jobs. Transportation spending generates jobs for workers in the construction industry and also has indirect effects on job creation by increasing the efficiency of the transportation system and improving business productivity. On the other hand, our transportation policy has the potential to exacerbate many Americans’ isolation from jobs and resources. At a time of high unemployment and unprecedented income inequality, equity in transportation policy is one of the most pressing civil and human rights issues our nation faces.

As policymakers discuss such important issues as how best to rebuild and repair our nation’s roads, bridges, railways, and ports, and where and how to prioritize investments in public transportation, it is vital that they take into consideration the needs of communities of color, low-income people, people with disabilities, seniors, and poor rural communities.

Transportation and mobility play key roles in the struggle for civil rights and equal opportunity. Historically, issues related to transportation were integral to the civil rights movement—embodied in the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Freedom Rides—yet, the civil rights implications of transportation policies have been largely ignored until recent years. Civil and human rights concerns must inform current decisions about where to build highways, the right way to expand transit, and how to connect people with jobs and community resources. The purpose of this paper is to highlight an important opportunity for all segments of society to participate fully in the debates around our nation’s transportation policy to ensure no community is left behind.