Agenda - 11-01-2022; 5-c - 2022 Orange County Transit Plan Update

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EQ trans equity. "fairness" in the form of "sameness:' Anyone who gets something different is suspect. What most people fail assessing equitable transit to take into account is that under the guise of"fairness" • • and "equal,"some groups enjoy greater privilege. . .- Many people do not know the history of transit inequality -• Often the institutionsgenerated inequalities that can be traced back to 1892, when Homer Plessy are the same institutionscharged with the task of self- refused to sit in the segregated car assigned to Blacks. reporting success. If a metaphor --•-• to Plessy's case was a landmark in challenging the asking the foxwho raided the hen house to assess the but equal" doctrine as practiced not only in hen house's -'- southern states but in northern states as well. When the Supreme Court, in Plessy v. Ferguson, upheld cycleBreaking the power requires " different • o" segregation in public accommodations, they provided It will take huge investments of resources (financial,_ the legal justification and framework for segregation. human, time, tc.)to begin to undo harm that has unfolded _ decades. after _•_ of the Whites typically enjoyed the privilege of interpreting Civil Rights Act, and despite •. restrictionsagainst "equal"and in every area of social life (education, health, discrimination •- of Americansocial employment), Blacks received substandard equipment exists and persists, . up in transportationalongside and . . .- and inadequate resources, all deemed legal by virtue of housing - • employment. the U.S. States Supreme Court. Equitybe measured exclusively through Many of the gaps and disparities Blacks grapple with dashboards " - ' indicator radical today in education, health, and employment, have improvement in the lives there o _ vucounty's most lnerable _ roots in this landmark decision. America has always residents. However, promoted "equality"in its social language, but the reality adverseused to guide more thoughtful consideration of potential impacts: is that we are still grappling with 150 years of legalized Race inequality and unequal treatment afterthe dissolution of Sexual Orientation (LG: - the slavery and 57 years after the passage of the 1964 Minoritized status Civil Rights Act that was meant to end segregation in Formerly Incarcerated public accommodations. Health disparities Unemployed The principle of equity is not about sameness. It is Homelessness Poverty-level built on proportionality and based on need — the g transportation needs of some groups are more significant Physical• than others, even if they are not the majority of those Living in minority neighborhoods disrupted using transportation. "Equity refers to proportional highways representation (by race, class, gender, etc.)...to achieve Gender (women have highest .- - of being , equity, policies and procedures may result in an unequal the poverty level) distribution . - distribution of resources. For example, need-based Immigrant financial aid reserves money specifically for low-income Undocumented immigrant students.Although unequal,this is considered equitable ' speaker because it is necessary to provide access to higher Rural communities education for low-income students:' Environmental • •" rities The reality is that we are still grappling years of legalized inequality and unequal treatment after the dissolution of • 57 years after