Our featured speakers, Keith Benjamin (left) and Toks Omishakin (right).
Omishakin grabbed the attention of everyone in the room by focusing on a set of three key numbers—10, 13, and 160. The number 10 refers to the 25 percent of American workers who make $10 an hour or less. 13 is the number of people who die while walking everyday in the US. 160 is the number of Tennessee households (in thousands) that don’t own a car. These numbers and his words demonstrated how equity isn’t, and can’t be, just another buzzword. Equity needs to be at the heart of Complete Streets; we need to be intentional about equity every day by enacting strong policies and regulations, and putting more funding behind Complete Streets initiatives.
Our second speaker, Keith Benjamin, shared the inspiring story of Esau Jenkins, a community organizer, advocate, and businessman from mid-1900s Charleston, South Carolina. Esau and his wife, Janie, recognized a gap in their segregated transportation system and decided to fix it. They purchased buses that would bring children to school and workers to jobs in predominantly black parts of Charleston that weren’t served by existing transit. Benjamin used the Jenkins’ story to remind us that gaps between access and opportunity breed privilege. It’s our responsibility to remember this story and ensure that we address both access and equity within Complete Streets work.
The night concluded with a presentation of a National Complete Streets Coalition award to Geoff Anderson for his lasting leadership and contributions to the Complete Streets movement.
Thank you to everyone who attended the event and who have helped push Complete Streets forward this past year. We’re grateful you are a part of this movement with us and we hope you’ll all join us next year at the Ninth Annual Complete Streets Dinner.