Community Unity in Action and the GRTC: a chat with Omari Al-Qadaffi
Last week, amidst the business of the Mayorathon and big GRTC announcements, Omari Al-Qadaffi and Community Unity in Action announced the filing of a Civil Right complaint against GRTC. We spoke with Omari to learn a little more about the complaint, and what we can all do to help get involved to ensure transit equality and justice for the East End.
First Omari told us a little about Community Unity in Action;
We are a coalition of nonprofits and community leaders that monitor the social justice issues in Richmond. We focus on more than just transportation, we also monitor housing, juvenile justice reform, issues surrounding food access and have supported the community throughout the RRHA heat crisis.
We asked Omari about the specific violations they are bringing to the attention of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) office of Civil Rights, here’s how he explained it.
Anyone that is receiving federal funds for their transit system is required to conduct a Service Equity Analysis before completing any major changes. We do not feel like they followed proper protocol when conducting the analysis. The analysis is done to assess the amount of disproportionate impact that would be suffered by minorities, and the disproportionate burden that would be placed on low income families.
Omari spoke on the previous complaint filed by the Richmond Branch of the NAACP in 2016. FTA has said that they were unable to hear the complaint until GRTC’s service equity analysis and Title VI update were completed. We wanted to know how other local leaders were responding to Omari’s new complaint.
Since the change in leadership at the Richmond Branch NAACP in 2017 we have not partnered with them as closely, and they are not involved in this case. I was really disappointed that City Council unanimously voted to approve the change after so many in the community came forward to ask for a delay on the vote to examine the analysis a little closer. The Stoney Administration has been receptive, and the office has reached out to get suggestions on how to right some of the wrongs that have impacted minority and low-income communities.
We wanted to know how people in the East End can get more involved and support this call for transportation justice
The Facebook page Leaders of the New South Community Council for Housing Volunteer opportunities and support opportunities are always available.
[sep]
Update from Omari’s FB feed:
Last night, during the presentation of the City’s budget proposal, Mayor Levar Stoney acknowledged inequities in the Greater Richmond Transit Companynetwork by announcing his proposal to include $965K extra money for GRTC to increase frequency and coverage in areas that need it the most.
24 comments
After hearing this, Stoney was delighted for yet another excuse to raise taxes.
I cannot say that I am surprised that Black people are being shamed for speaking out on injustice. God forbid we open our mouths to the detriment of White homeowners to the tune of a whopping $965K! Lord! That must be the reason that Stoney is proposing a tax increase.
You gotta love the shirt. (“Remix. Rebel. Leaders of the New South.”) An homage to the old Confederacy while at the same time advocating for a new, brighter future.
Omari,
I remember your act the first time around…when you went by the stage name Sa’ad El-Amin.
Again, this Omari person doesn’t seem to have any idea of the history of the Pulse. CHPN, why are you continuing to give him a platform without addressing the fact the city put a lot of time, effort, thought, and political capital into the Pulse!!! It’s whole point is to connect lower-end communities to jobs in the West End, that’s why routes have changed! Here’s a quote from this post “and what we can all do to help get involved to ensure transit equality and justice for the East End.” Why are you assuming this Omari person is the one that has the story straight and is the one to follow, when he clearly doesn’t understand VERY RECENT CITY HISTORY. That is *not* decided fact, CHPN, and I think you should do some research before blindly following this guy. A lot of really smart and thoughtful people got together to try to reduce poverty in the city, and the Pulse is a step in that direction. At this point, if people like Omari are going to trash poverty reduction initiatives, then what’s the point of even trying to reduce poverty in the city? Omari – please think about what you’re doing, and actually talk to some people who have lived in this city for the more than 5 minutes you seem to have.
MP, thanks for the feedback. We’re not “blindly” following anyone. Is there not any room for improvement? Can we not hear out the other side? Of course the Pulse is a great initiative AND it can be better.
@ 2, East End Omari – that is a pretty racist comment. You’re assuming all homeowners in Richmond are white. Most of the people I know who own homes in Richmond aren’t white, and will be affected by tax increases just as much as their white neighbors.
@MP, I think it’s unwise to go right at a media outlet for “giving a platform” to someone with controversial opinions.
I agree with Gustavo that it’s not “blindly following” Omari to publish opinions that are outside the mainstream debate. By giving Omari a hearing, CHPN is fighting the gatekeeper effect that exists throughout US politics, used to sideline any non-elected’s opinion by relegating those opinions to smaller forums that are then labeled “echo chambers”.
As someone who works in PR/Media Relations, I can tell you that one of the main functions of newspapers today is as forums for organized groups to battle ideas in public view.
What I mean is, if newspapers are not willing to loan their megaphones to groups who have yet-unheard, cohesive messages (even controversial ones), then they are actively gate-keeping; there is no middle-ground in open public debate (anything less than “open” is simply “not open”).
Gatekeeping in public debates gives credence to the idea that our democracy is not functioning correctly and it is against the spirit of the first amendment freedom of speech and association (the choice of readers to, or not-to associate with Omari).
Omari FOR SURE has an agenda, but so does everyone opposing him who is bothered by his activism. There is a ton of opposition to Omari’s position; why deny him a platform when there are probably dozens of Ivy League grads with a personal stake in the new GRTC setup who could battle Omari’s ideas in this newspaper, or the comments, or RTD or other media?
I’m someone who thinks Omari tries to “hush” people who he sees as having insufficient personal experience to comment on issues. But I’m also someone who thinks he’s 100% right when he says if a black man (meaning himself) voices an opinion people get angry and freak out, rather than engaging him. I mean seriously, I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen someone just debate Omari without getting angry and accusing him of racism, after accusing him of accusing THEM of racism.
I don’t know Sa’ad but reading that linked article did not remind me of Omari and even though I am not a supporter of Omari, he’s not crazy and he makes a lot of true and incisive points across a range of issues. Also pretty sure he’s lived in Richmond most/all of his life.
A racist playing the race card? NEVER saw that coming.
Omari is a racist black guy that loves playing the victim. He got kicked out of the Church Hill facebook page for blowing up on people that didn’t agree with him. Everyone else is a racist to him.
@2, East End Omari and to Omari Al-Qadaffi,
I am a black resident of the East End who uses a car and rides the bus. I’ve identified myself along these lines because the discussion around this issue is like a bad logic problem. It presumes that Pulse is an all white initiative and that its critics are all black. After attending various 7th District Mtgs and speaking to Councilwoman Cynthia Newbille, both the Pulse and bus re-routing initiatives. as well as its critics (i.e. Omari Al-Qadaffi and others) are predominantly black. Also, the Pulse representatives at the 7th District meetings, and other places, have been nothing but open and welcoming to suggestions and ways that services can be improved.
As it relates to this specific issue, can we please get beyond the simple language of civil rights racism where all the problems are caused by whites and blacks have all the answers?? It’s old, played out, and not useful.
@MP – Oh Lord. There it is. The cries of “reverse racism”. smh. I did not make an assumption that homeowners are White. And if I did THAT is not what racism is. I made the assumption that The Union Hill screen name is the cover for someone who is White.
The point is that it is VERY absurd to think that a tax increase is needed or is the justification for a measly $965K. It’s pretty hilarious given the substantial amount of funds that the tax increase is proposed to generate. The assertion just seems to me to be an easy way to pin one’s opposition to a Black politician on a Black community advocate who is doing nothing but seeking justice. Nothing more. A complaint does nothing more than ask a federal agency to investigate possible civil rights violations. If none are found, no harm no foul. The fact that people are so aggressively against due process is very telling.
Its a lot easier to name call and blame as an excuse for not coming up with a viable solution and kicking the can down the road. Here’s an option how about the City discounts ridership for employers willing to subsidize their employees travel through a program. Makes the rides essentially free for people going to and from work. Then employers can write the expense off their taxes. Boom you just saved everyone some money rather then taxing everyone to the hilt.
@EastEnder and the disguised named individual who is purported to be a Black resident
Please read the Civil Rights Act and pay close attention to Title VI requirements of the act imposed by the Federal Transit Administration. This is the basis of my complaint and not “simple language of civil rights activism”. I have attended numerous meetings and corresponded/met with GRTC execs, transit consultants, and City of Richmond staff since December 2016. I am well aware of what the transit planners have and have not done with the concerns of the public. Advocates in Richmond recommended that the Pulse terminate on Williamsburg road in order to give access to transit dependent residents of Fulton, who happen to be largely Black. The Pulse line follows the same mapping as the redlining maps of the 1940s if you notice. It intentionally avoids all areas of predominantly Black and low-income residency. The rerouting of the buses was done to increase ridership. They have been openly intentional about designing it in a way to convince people who own cars to choose to leave their cars at home and ride the bus instead. Those are the facts. Opinions are great. Informed opinions are best.
@Mark The scores of non-racist White people in the group have been openly questioning why I was removed from that FB group, which is a haven for racist Whites and others who accommodate racism. They have said that I was targeted because I spoke intelligently about the negative racial dynamics of the group that admin were exacerbating. The admin of that group claims that I was removed because I blocked people who were racist, who unbeknownst to me were admin/moderators of the group.
@Ryan I am not sure how I can hush people. I dont have the power to do that, so Im not sure how I would manage that. I firmly believe that people impacted by problems are the ones best able to develop and implement the solutions whether they be White, Black, purple, or green. Seems like common sense that isnt too common among those who have a sense of superiority and omniscience.
The End. And Im out.
CHPN Community,
Moving forward it is best if we don’t give Omari any more attention. He is only here to agitate by calling everyone a racist. Let’s not feed his ego and give him another platform to sound off on.
He can go join that woman with the megaphone across from the McDonald’s on 18th Street.
@East End Omari,
You’ve got some nerve calling people out on their blackness. For real. Also, I have read the Civil Rights Act and Title VI. Your comment and the very tone of it illustrates my point. Singling out a given area disaffected by Pulse does not mean that it has not also helped other low income black communities. Talking to Pulse folks after meetings for a while was the way I and some other folks manage to get bus transportation from the Creighton area to Willow Lawn, but I guess I’m not as informed as you.
@15 – Completely agree. This dude will complain about “racism” no matter what.
Omari’s anger at his socioeconomic status is misdirected at race, when in reality he just needs to get a job.
I have called no one racist. I only see me being called racist… I didnt call anyone out on their blackness. I alluded to the fact that people online can call themselves black, white, or purple especially when they are unidentified with an ambiguous screen name, while I on the other hand am identified right up there in the pic. People are so aggressive here. It’s really odd.
I have not called anyone on this post racist or any other labels… This is all very interesting to me. Im not moved enough to attack anyone’s character honestly. I have told you the references to go to so that you understand the basis of the complaint. I would love to see anyone debate those. But they can’t be debated. Not even GRTC execs have argued them, but anonymous screen names on Facebook seem to be very much empowered to do so. *shrug*
@Mark and @MP Unless you are a portion of the population that’s impacted negatively by the privilege and oppression that has existed generationally against the Black community in Richmond then I think you should take a stand down on this issue. There are over a hundred years of history that demonstrate the institutionalized racism in Churchill and if you can ignore that to make the comments you have here, then you’ve got a ton of privilege. I’d suggest you stop hiding behind screenames as you make passive aggressive comments to disparage an activist that does more for his community than any other residents that I know. By the way, whatever he does to help residents that really need it, will help you by default.
My whole thing is you can keep calling people racist. The fact of the matter is the City had multiple meetings before the pulse was put in place. Interested parties should have attended and voiced concerns, called council people, helped to make informed decisions. If you look at the total pulse plan online future service would spur in different areas. I’m not sure who’ve you interacted with at the City but I disagree a majority of them are racist. It seems like in today’s climate people throw around absurd accusations and ideas when they have personal axes to grind, don’t like the facts or don’t have all the facts. Yes there was segregation and Jim Crow. There has been white and black flight from our community to the suburbs. Yes there are legitimate claims of discrimination. I think it’s a better idea to have dialogue and come up with viable solutions to problems rather than arguing.
East End Activist, it’s not “oppression” when it’s “self-inflicted”.
I’m excited for this year’s Irish Festival. How about everyone else?
Richmond city hall doesn’t strike me as cash rich. A lot of reasons and a lot shade can be thrown about the how and the why of that, but still.
A million dollar increase on busses is a million dollars not spent on teachers. Or on fixing potholes. It matters. And investigations cost money as well.
So for those of us at the ‘let’s do stuff’ table, mark okeefe, I like that idea a lot. Gets buy-in from employers and workers. And thanks for the redirect @11. Eastender, you make good points. Our language can advance us into 2019 or divide us into some jackleg groups that don’t actually help anyone. No need for that.