Structural Racism and Inequity in the U.S. Aviation Industry: Foundations and Implications (2024)
Chapter: Front Matter
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ACRP Web-Only Document 60 |
Structural Racism and Inequity in the U.S. Aviation Industry
FOUNDATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
Amber Woodburn McNair
Jason Reece
The Ohio State University
Columbus, OH
Destiny N. Thomas
Imani Mitchell-Wyatt
Thrivance Group
Los Angeles, CA
Julia Nagy
Sara Kaplan
Harris Miller Miller & Hanson, Inc.
Washington, DC
Conduct of Research Report for ACRP Project 02-99
Submitted February 2024
ACRP
Web-Only Document 60
Structural Racism and Inequity in the U.S. Aviation Industry
FOUNDATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
Amber Woodburn McNair
Jason Reece
The Ohio State University
Columbus, OH
Destiny N. Thomas
Imani Mitchell-Wyatt
Thrivance Group
Los Angeles, CA
Julia Nagy
Sara Kaplan
Harris Miller Miller & Hanson, Inc.
Washington, DC
Contractor’s Final Report for ACRP Project 02-99
Submitted February 2024
© 2024 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the graphical logo are trademarks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work was sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It was conducted through the Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP), which is administered by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein.
Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, APTA, FAA, FHWA, FTA, GHSA, or NHTSA endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP.
Digital Object Identifier: 10.17226/27917
Epub ISBN: 978-0-309-72477-7
DISCLAIMER
The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the researchers who performed the research. They are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; or the program sponsors.
The Transportation Research Board does not develop, issue, or publish standards or specifications. The Transportation Research Board manages applied research projects which provide the scientific foundation that may be used by Transportation Research Board sponsors, industry associations, or other organizations as the basis for revised practices, procedures, or specifications.
The Transportation Research Board, the National Academies, and the sponsors of the Airport Cooperative Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report.
The information contained in this document was taken directly from the submission of the author(s). This material has not been edited by TRB.
The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president.
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COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS
CRP STAFF FOR ACRP WEB-ONLY DOCUMENT 60
Waseem Dekelbab, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Marci A. Greenberger, Manager, Airport Cooperative Research Program
Joseph D. Navarrete, Senior Program Officer
Stephanie L. Campbell, Senior Program Assistant
Natalie Barnes, Director of Publications
Heather DiAngelis, Associate Director of Publications
Jennifer Correro, Assistant Editor
ACRP PROJECT 02-99 PANEL
Field of Environment
Heather Frost, Signature Flight Support, Roanoke, TX (Chair)
Gabriel Arteaga, Create&, Washington, DC
Kelly Crawford, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Washington, DC
Marquise McGraw, American University, Washington, DC
Scott Morrissey, Denver International Airport, Denver, CO
Michele Ross, Metropolitan Airports Commission, Minneapolis, MN
Michon L. Washington, FAA Liaison
Sabrina Johnson, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Liaison
Melinda Z. Pagliarello, Airports Council International–North America Liaison
AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The research reported herein was performed under ACRP Project 02-99 by HMMH, The Ohio State University (OSU), and The Thrivance Group. The research team was supported by research advisors Phil Ralston and Rod Borden. The lead authors thank Katherine Preston and Erin Greenfield of HMMH, Dr. Gala Korniyenko, Kai Le, and Saba Maleki of OSU, and Imani Mitchell of Thrivance Group for their support throughout the project.
CONTENTS
1.2 Structural Origins of Inequity
2.1.1 Process of Racialization
2.1.2 Racialization, Harm, and White Supremacy
2.2 Social Constructs that Shape the Process of Othering
2.3 Legacies of Group-Based Othering Within Aviation
2.3.1 Profiling and Harassment of Religious Groups
2.3.2 Profiling and Harassment of Gender Groups
2.3.3 Sexual Harassment and Assault
2.3.4 De-Prioritization of Services for People Using Ambulatory Devices
2.3.5 Challenges Accommodating non-English Speakers and Wayfinding
2.3.6 Practices of Exclusion and Tokenism in the Workforce
2.3.7 Monuments of White Supremacy
3.1 White Settler Expansion and Manifest Destiny
3.2 Dispossession of Indigenous Persons
3.3 Violent Acquisition and Control of Land
3.4 Legacies of Settler Colonialism within Aviation
3.4.1 Geographic Isolation of Tribal Nations
3.4.2 Tribal Nations Lack of Access to Airport Facilities
3.4.3 Disruption of Sacred Sites
4 ECONOMIC SYSTEM OF RACIAL CAPITALISM
4.4 Legacies of Economic Systems of Racial Capitalism within Aviation
4.4.1 Workforce/Occupational Segregation
4.4.2 Generational Wealth Inequality
4.4.4 Airports as Sites of Human Trafficking
4.4.5 Affiliations with the Prison-Industrial Complex
5.1 Oppression Related to Mobility
5.1.1 Criminalization of Movement/Freedom of Black and Indigenous Persons
5.1.2 Structural Racism, Racial Profiling and Discrimination
5.2 Oppression Related to Place
5.2.1 Race, Space, and Equity: 20th Century Residential Segregation
5.2.2 Racial Exclusion & Early Zoning Practices
5.2.3 Racially Restrictive Covenants
5.2.4 Exclusionary and Expulsive Zoning
5.2.5 Real Estate Assessment and Racism – The Era of Redlining Emerges
5.2.6 From Redlining to Urban Renewal and Segregated Suburbs
5.2.7 Civil Rights Reforms & the Persistence of Housing Discrimination
5.3 Legacies of Systemic Oppression within Aviation
5.3.1 Racial Segregation of Airport Customers
5.3.3 Airport Siting and Land Acquisition
5.3.4 Lack of Equitable/Deep Community Engagement
5.3.5 Limitations and Challenges in Current Airport NEPA Environmental Justice Practice
5.3.6 Infrastructure Access and Belonging
5.3.7 Racial Profiling of Passengers
6 THE FOUNDATIONS OF TRANSPORTATION EQUITY
6.1 Transportation and the Geography of Inequity
6.2.1 Civil Rights and Disability Justice
6.2.2 Anti-LGBTQIA+ Planning Priorities
6.2.3 Environmental Justice Movements
6.3 Nuanced Approaches to Justice
ACRP Web-Only Document 60 contains the conduct of research report for ACRP Project 02-99 and accompanies ACRP Research Report 265: Incorporating Environmental Justice and Equity Principles: A Toolkit for Airports. Readers can read or purchase ACRP Research Report 265 on the National Academies Press website (nap.nationalacademies.org).
