MARTA and Asian-American groups make nice

By Ariel Hart

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tears, hugs, thanks, apologies and the occasional recrimination marked the long-awaited meeting between MARTA CEO Beverly Scott and local Asian-American leaders.

They met one day after MARTA announced it was changing the newly dubbed “yellow” line to “gold.” The line runs to Doraville, home to a large Asian-American community.

The word "yellow" has historically been used to denigrate Asians.

“I just didn’t pick it up, no question,” Scott told Helen Kim, director of advocacy and education at the Center for Pan Asian Community Services, who spearheaded the meeting. “We are so sorry, and I am so sorry.”

Kim reached out to grasp Scott's hand as she told her that the groups had tried to address the issue quietly but couldn't get traction. Scott teared up as she spoke of the importance of Atlanta's civil rights past. After Scott explained that MARTA hadn't received a single complaint from an average citizen, and after Kim said that average citizens had complained to ethnic advocacy groups and suggested rallies or boycotts, Scott reached out for a hug.

Kim and others detailed their concerns in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article earlier this week, but MARTA knew about the problem months earlier. First, an employee of its own diversity office raised concerns a month before the Oct. 1 renaming. Then the groups met with MARTA staff in November. Local papers such as the Georgia Asian Times and The Korea Times wrote about it. The AJC article this week and follow-ups were relayed on national Web sites.