Silence is No Longer Acceptable

Silence is no longer acceptable.

This morning, our country is waking up to images that are being described by some as thugs looting and setting things on fire. That is not what we see. We see streets and public spaces being claimed and used for and by people who have suffered for too long under systems of systemic racism and white supremacy. We see an uprising. We see calls for action. We see people who simply cannot stand by silently wishing for peace when they are all too aware of the absence of justice.

Awareness is no longer enough.

Simply being aware of the insidious ways that racism pervades every aspect of our society—including transportation—and saying that equity is important in the work can no longer move us forward. We can no longer ignore that when black people claim public space they are described as a threat, but other people are described as simply exhibiting their rights. We can no longer ignore that everyone living in this country is inhabiting stolen land that was looted and built up for free by enslaved labor. This is the context of our work and ignoring it means that we cannot create the transportation systems and public spaces that are truly for all people.

It is not the responsibility of black people, indigenous people, or people of color to fix this problem.

At Toole Design, we stand with the communities across the nation who are grieving, angry, and exhausted due to the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tony McDade, and the far too long list of black people killed by police. It is especially heartbreaking that police violence against Black and brown communities continues unabated while those communities are suffering disproportionately from COVID-19. We also know that many people of color, particularly women of color, have been fighting to change our industry for the better. They do this with patience, compassion, and empathy and as a service to the rest of us—but it should not be their job alone. We must listen, we must elevate voices, we must change.

Read the rest here…