Race on the Move

Whether on the bus, subway or train, public transit continues to be a separate and unequal experience for many Black Americans

In Race on the Move, Gwendolyn Purifoye argues that, whether on the subway, bus, or commuter rail, Black passengers have unequal experiences in terms of time, quality, speed of service, bodily movement, and leisurely enjoyment. As she shows, the capacity to move around a city is of major economic and social import: who has the ability to get to jobs, healthcare, grocery shopping, good schools, and quality and affordable housing are among the features of urban life that are structured by public transportation systems. The woefully inadequate and underperforming public transportation systems in many Black communities has led to unyielding disruptions of families, communities, and futures.

Drawing on interviews and nine years of ethnographic field research and media analysis in Chicago, Purifoye details how covert and overt racial hostilities are shaped through racial residential segregation. Purifoye contends that race and racism have been historically spatialized, materialized, and mobilized through public transportation systems. By showing how minority passengers and transit personnel are not equally protected by the transit agencies, how they experience raced social aggression, and the lack of dignity afforded riders on a daily basis, Purifoye documents the intensity of everyday racism as lived out on public transportation. Race on the Move also offers community organizers and policy makers more equitable and sustainable design options that could improve the lives of Black city dwellers.

Gwendolyn Purifoye is Assistant Professor in the Keough School of Global Affairs and the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame.