I recently read a post on social media asking people to share when they first had a Black teacher in school. As you can expect, the responses were varied. Many indicated that they did not have a Black teacher until high school or college. Some, including Blacks, responded never. I thought “How sad.”
I recalled that I had my first Black teacher in fourth grade. At the time, I thought nothing of it. I mean, didn’t everyone have a Black teacher at some point? I was simply following in my sisters’ footsteps and pretty much had the same teachers they did. It was the early 1970s, and I lived in a small Texas town where everyone went to the same school. We weren’t large enough to have more than one campus for each grade. In fourth grade, we attended Dunbar Elementary, which had been the Black school in our town before integration. When the district integrated in the late 1960s, the Black faculty integrated along with the students. I remember each of those Black teachers with fondness for the energy and excellence they brought to their lessons and the perspectives they shared with the students. I believe my education was richer having sat in their classrooms. I imagine that it was a positive experience for the Black students to learn from an educator who looked like them.
Growing up, we seek mentors and leaders to guide us along the path to adulthood. We all should be able to see ourselves reflected in those who teach us, lead us, and work with us. In the transportation profession, it is no different. Black people have played a pivotal role in the advancement of all modes of transportation for centuries, and we are safer and better having benefitted from their leadership and innovation.
Many of these transportation pioneers names are familiar to us: Garrett Morgan (created the modern-day traffic signal), Andrew Jackson Beard (invented an improved and safer coupler for use on trains), Elbert R. Robinson (refined the electric railway trolley), and Frederick McKinley Jones (designed a portable air-cooling unit for trucks). However, Black contributions to transportation date back to the cradle of civilization with the Ethiopian and Egyptian empires, the Phoenicians, and the Moors. Bringing that innovation to our shores was Pedro Alonso Nino, who was Moorish and the chief navigator for Christopher Columbus piloting the Santa Maria to the New World.
As we recognize Black History Month in February, and work to expand our community of transportation professionals, ITE celebrates these pioneers who challenged discrimination and the status quo to pursue their dreams and make our world a better place. They are part of the fabric of our profession and represent the greatness we all have inside us. We should ensure they not remain nameless and faceless.
Do you have a Black colleague who is a leader who deserves accolades? Are you a Black ITE member interested in serving and becoming one of those leaders? Are you passionate about equity in transportation? Do you want to encourage Black students join our STEM field? Are you committed to enhancing the diversity and inclusion of ITE? We have many opportunities to help shine a spotlight on these pivotal members of our transportation community. If you want to get involved, please reach out to me on the ITE e-Community or on Twitter: @BeverlyKuhn.
Together, we can ensure everyone sees themselves in ITE.
This is from the President's Message in the February issue of ITE Journal.