Black history that doesn't make it into the history books v2.0

[Baobab]

73. One set of events that was instrumental in the creation of an underclass was the biggest mistake

-the worst example of privatization disasters- between the 1930s and 1970s, a holding company set up by general motors, national City Lines, covertly bought up and intentionally neglected and then destroyed hundreds of urban mass transit systems, electric trolley systems, in order to force people to buy cars. This was a huge mistake. the towns that managed to resist it and keep their trolleys now are quite substantially more prosperous than those that lost them. The loss of ability to get around for people who could not afford cars was a huge factor in the creation of an underclass.

the trolleys were popular and energy efficient, even by today's measures. They made communities walkable.

national City Lines was also a notoriously racist company. the bus that Rosa parks was riding when she refused to give up her seat and go stand in the back was run by National City Lines.

Its possible the racism was a calculated ploy to attempt to decrease ridership so that the bus lines could be abandoned.

This loss of what was previously the best public transit system in the world also led directly to our current dependence on cheap oil, numerous wars, and an unimaginably large number of unnecessary deaths.