I was there . . .
Mark Johnson
Phoenix, 1987
Mark Johnson reads his narrative.
Phoenix is the home to world-class hotels and resorts, fine dining, exhilarating
adventure, breath-taking golf courses, trendy shopping, modern night-life and
enriching culture. It's also the home to a transit system that only has 36
accessible buses out of a fleet of over 300 and no plans to become 100%
accessible.
Day 1
We organized 2 actions. First, we welcomed APTA members and their spouses to
Phoenix by forming a gauntlet at Sky Harbor Airport. That night, it was off to
Rustlers Rooste. Rustler’s Rooste is located 15 minutes from downtown. The
legend goes that the original site, atop a butte in the foothills of South
Mountain, was a hideout for cattle rustlers. Today, it is Arizona’s Legendary
Cowboy Steakhouse, also serves rattle snake. It provides an unparalleled view of
the city lights. That night, APTA members and their spouses couldn't hide and
they had a view of us. We blocked the roads and main entrances. All the
chartered buses had to be re-routed and APTA guests had to walk. Tom Olin, his
first full action, took plenty of pictures, women with high hill shoes and
businessmen in suits walking up and down a dirt mountain path.
Days 2-5
The first action was at the Hyatt, headquarters to the Convention. In those days
we'd roll back and forth, not enough of us to take all the entrances and exits.
Several of us also started blocking buses at the major transit exchange. When
the police would pull one of us off, another one would take our place. Fifteen
activists and I got arrested and transported to a general prison pod. It'd been
freshly painted. Once they found out some of us needed bowel programs, we were
shipped to the prison infirmary and confined to individual cells.
Rigid schedule, nothing to do or nobody to talk to, I looked forward to the
daily visit by the library cart. Mike Auberger killed time in his cell by
counting the holes in the ceiling tiles. In the beginning I was a little freaked
out by the isolation, but everyday Wade, our friendly clergy (just another hat
that he wore), would visit and update us. His hardest task was explaining to my
wife why I wasn't going to get home when expected.
While we were in, folks on the outside repeatedly hit the Hyatt and disrupted a
spouses lunch function in the Biltmore Estates area, 76 people were arrested.
Friday
Most folks had already gone home. Wade appears with the good news: we're being
released. The story of our efforts had gone national. The City of Phoenix was
brought to its knees.
Kudos
This was the first action were the transit officials and media called us
PROFESSIONAL protestors. All in all it was a great action; it exploited the
rationale of local option. APTA members and their spouses experienced barriers
and the public became more aware. Richard (Bob) Michael's, ABIL (local ILC),
Executive Director, wrote that there had been more public discussion in 5 days
than there had been in 5 years. In addition the Mayor made a public statement
supporting lifts on all new buses.