The week before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the Crossroads Transportation Equity and Justice Convening brought researchers, planners, and practitioners who are committed to advancing equity through transportation through their research work, data gathering, and advocacy together in Washington, D.C.
To put it mildly, the work towards transportation equity has been an uphill battle in the past year. We all have seen federal cuts to infrastructure and research that measures and assesses the impact of inequity. These cuts have threatened whole programs and funding streams that research and advocacy organizations like RPA depend on.
The Convening opened with a compelling keynote from Olatunji Oboi Reed, President and CEO of Equiticity, a racial equity organization dedicated to improving outcomes for Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities through research, advocacy, and innovative mobility solutions. He shared Equitcity’s practice of supporting mobility interventions such as Community Mobility Rituals (CMRs) which function as consistent neighborhood events to socialize and connect people around mobility. CMRs build trust within communities which increases the sense of safety and reduces concerns about neighborhood violence and discriminatory law enforcement experienced by marginalized users of our streets. In essence, these events seek to transform neighborhoods by improving mobility options which lead to better life outcomes, stronger social cohesion, and healing for marginalized communities.
Credit: equiticity.org
Reed reminded us that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. understood what many still overlook today: public transportation is a civil rights issue, and when Federal policy ends support and funding for programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, it is not a politically neutral act. It’s an intentional assault on the hard-fought victories of the Civil Rights movements’ insistence on equitable access. By design, institutions continue to promote racial injustice by reinforcing historical decisions and racial inequities which limit mobility and access to opportunity for marginalized groups. The most important work we can do to promote transportation equity is to dismantle systems of structural racism in transportation planning and other institutions.
In a posthumously published essay, . Dr. King argued that access to affordable, dignified transit wasn’t merely a convenience—it was essential to economic equality and opportunity. Challenging a system deliberately designed to marginalize Black communities was not just an act of civil disobedience, it is central to preserving the basic right to move freely through society.
Some key lessons from the Convening:
The Convening concluded with a plenary discussion featuring Naomi Doerner (Equivolve), Dr. Gretchen Goldman (Union of Concerned Scientists), Anna Zivarts (leader of the nondriver movement and author of When Driving Is Not an Option), and Stephanie Gidigbi Jenkins (Communities First Fund), who discussed the pressing question of how to sustain momentum amid declining federal support. Stephanie Gidigbi Jenkins called out the fact that although many people in the room are struggling to figure out how to continue this work without funding, the communities that we are hoping to benefit have been doing this work without funding for decades.
Given the focus of the conference on turning research into action to promote transportation equity, panelists were each asked to put forth their own calls to action for attendees to take back to their own practices and networks:
Naomi Doerner: Create platforms for lived experience so we can share and implement ideas from this crucial source of community wisdom.
Dr. Gretchen Goldman: The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) expires in 2026, and this year congress will pass a reauthorization bill which sets federal policy on funds highway, transit, safety, and rail programs for up to six years at a time. Stay informed and use your influence to shape this important legislative process.
Anna Zivarts: Encourage your elected representatives to take part in the ‘Week Without Driving’
Stephanie Gidigbi Jenkins: Know who is up for reelection in 2026, and show up as a collective to ensure communities are shaping democratic processes
The panel’s final message was clear: stay the course. After the convening closed, the shared resolve in the room was tangible. Despite a rocky path ahead, advancing transportation justice requires all hands on deck—continuing innovation, maintaining community partnerships, and striding toward the ultimate goal of freedom of movement for all.
Those of us attending on behalf of RPA were inspired by what we learned from researchers, academics, practitioners, and advocates working to operationalize transportation equity. We are grateful to the conference organizers and everyone we met for the shared wisdom, community, and solidarity.
