Following accusations of racial insensitivity, transit officials in Atlanta are renaming a “yellow” train line that goes to a heavily Asian-populated area “gold.”
Asian American community leaders have been challenging the “yellow” name since last fall, when they first got wind of the Metro Atlanta Regional Transit Authority’s (MARTA) plan to color code its train lines. The yellow-turned-gold line takes passengers to Doraville in the northeast suburbs, an area with a large Asian population.
From a historical perspective, the word “yellow” carries loaded connotations for the Asian American community. Opponents of Asian immigration to the United States dating as far back as the 19th century used to employ the phrase “yellow peril” in reference to the perceived threat of these “foreigners.” Yellow was supposed to describe Asian people’s skin color.
“This is something that is offensive to many people in our community,” Helen Kim, advocacy director for Atlanta’s Center for Pan Asian Community Services, told a local Atlanta TV news station. She said she was pleased MARTA chose to listen to these community voices and make the change.
