There was much ruckus over the blatant racism roiling in Beavercreek during the past three years, due to their adamant stand against allowing bus stops giving access to their lily-white town from the Dayton proper.
The town eventually lost and the bus stops were installed, but I haven't a doubt that the murder of John Crawford stems back to disgruntled feelings because of that discrimination charge.
Their disgusting racist "message" has been sent.
Mostly-White Ohio Suburb Gives In, Allows Mostly-Black Bus-Riders Into Community
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/10/15/2779621/ohio-bus-riders/
After being threatened with the loss of millions of dollars in federal highway funds, politicians in a mostly-white Ohio community are backing down in their quest to keep out mostly-minority bus-riders from a nearby city.
For years, the Beavercreek (OH) City Council has fought the construction of Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority bus stops. If built, the stops would give bus commuters, nearly three-quarters of whom are minorities, access to a shopping mall and other nearby attractions in Beavercreek, a largely-white suburb.
However, that decision came under scrutiny after a local group, Leaders for Equality in Action in Dayton, filed a discrimination claim in August 2011. The Federal Highway Administration agreed with the group, finding that Beavercreek’s actions violated the 1964 Civil Rights Act by harming minorities who relied on the bus to get to work, medical treatment, school, or commerce. If the city didn’t reverse itself and allow the construction, the FHA ruled, it could lose more than $10 million in federal highway funds.
Though the city council had put off a final decision for months, they finally backed down this week. On Monday, they voted 5-2 to allow bus stop construction to proceed, though not without gripes from some councilmembers. According to the Dayton Daily News, councilwoman Melissa Litteral (R) “said the potential loss of federal funding would be ‘catastrophic,’” and only voted in favor because “Our backs are to the wall.”
Despite suggestions by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and others that systemic racism is a thing of the past, the Beavercreek episode is another demonstration not only of the existence of discrimination at a local level, but also the need for federal intervention to combat it.
No proof suspect took bus to Walmart Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014
Social media was abuzz early that RTA leads to crime in Beavercreek, woman says she dropped John Crawford off at the store.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/local/no-proof-suspect-took-bus-to-walmart/ngw28/
~snip~
Shortly after reports of a Tuesday night shooting death of an armed man at a Walmart in Beavercreek, some commenters on social media sites, including the Dayton Daily News and WHIO digital sites, began speculating the incident in which John Crawford, 22, of Fairfield died may somehow be connected to new Dayton Area Regional Transit Authority bus stops in the area.
~snip~
RTA Executive Director Mark Donaghy said Wednesday it is near impossible for a person to arrive anywhere on an RTA bus weapon-in-hand without notice. He said drivers are trained to turn away any passenger brandishing a weapon.
~snip~
A review of Beavercreek Police records for the first quarter of the year showed the area had no rise in crime following the additional Beavercreek routes that serve about 80 riders a day.
Bus service to the Mall at Fairfield Commons began Jan. 12 after a years-long dispute between the city of Beavercreek and the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority. One of the stops is directly south of the Walmart on Pentagon Boulevard.
The city first rejected RTA’s request for bus stops in the area in March 2011. But Beavercreek City Council approved the bus stops last year after a challenge by Leaders for Equality in Action in Dayton, a civil rights group, and a subsequent Highway Administration decision that could have cost the city $10.7 million in federal highway money.
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