Moving to tamp a controversy that has reached the national news, MARTA CEO Beverly Scott said Thursday afternoon that the transit agency would change the name of its “yellow” train line, which goes to Doraville, home to a large Asian-American community. The line will now be called "gold."
Scott said the details had not been settled on exactly how to make the change, but it would be phased in -- a less expensive option than implementing it all at once.
"We’re thrilled," said Helen Kim, director of advocacy and education at the Center for Pan Asian Community Services in Doraville. "I think this shows that MARTA heard our voice and they are sensitive to our concerns."
"Yellow" has historically been used as a derogatory term for Asians, such as "the yellow peril" or "the yellow hordes."
Kim said her group and others would pay close attention to the details of the transition.
Scott said she still intended to meet with Asian-American group leaders as scheduled Friday, but that there was no point in delaying the decision. She said MARTA had never intended to offend anyone with the renaming, which went into effect Oct. 1 along with other color names for the rest of the system, and that it was making the change out of “an abundance of caring for this community.”
A MARTA employee who dealt with diversity issues warned the agency a month before the change that it could offend some in the Asian-American community. The change comes shortly after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the advocacy groups’ concern over the issue. That story prompted nationwide interest including from the Web site Gawker.
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