A local bus company
has stirred a controversy over a message to student-customers that said, “You
won’t feel like you’re in China when you’re on our buses.”
Compounding its
insulting message, the company said—in an “apology”— that UIUC is mismanaged
and has increased enrollment to the point where Chinese nationals are 20% of
the student population (that is false).
Coincidentally,
December 1st was the 62nd anniversary of Rosa Parks
refusal to leave her seat to accommodate a white passenger.
Background: Buses
in Montgomery, Alabama were segregated. On Dec. 1, 1955, Parks was actually in
the “colored” section. But the white section was full, so the driver ordered
her to move back further in the colored section. She refused, and was
physically removed from the bus.
Our employment law
class focuses on Title VII. That’s the law that prohibits employment
discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.
The employment title is part of a much broader law called the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title II prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion or national origin in hotels, motels, restaurants, theaters, and all other public accommodations engaged in interstate commerce. That includes transportation—here buses.
The employment title is part of a much broader law called the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title II prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion or national origin in hotels, motels, restaurants, theaters, and all other public accommodations engaged in interstate commerce. That includes transportation—here buses.
Our Chinese students reported that Suburban’s drivers verbally harassed Chinese students in
2013.
For this reason, Chinese students have been quietly boycotting Suburban Bus. Their boycott is like boycotts that
arose out of Rosa Parks’ experience. Employers who segregated their workplaces
also were boycotted.
Today, we took a
moment to reflect on the history of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and the
pervasive nature of discrimination, affecting employment, transportation, voting,
housing, and education.
The cookie was meant
as a small celebration of freedom from discrimination. Our class—composed of students
from China, Korea, Nigeria, Pakistan—and mostly from the U.S. (and of that
group, mostly Illinois)— discussed the local bus situation. They concluded that discrimination is bad for business.
