Every February, Sound Transit commemorates Black History Month by raising the Pan African flag outside our Union Station headquarters.
We also love sharing the ways that our employees celebrate. For Simbi Ntahobari, equity & inclusion program specialist, this year's theme of Black Resistance especially resonates.
You can listen to Ntahobari and other members of our Blacks Empowering Success in Transit (BEST) employee group in this video, along with a rendition of "Lift Every Voice and Sing."
Ntahobari joined Sound Transit in 2021, after working for the national office of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Washington, D.C.
"The NAACP is the oldest civil rights organization in the United States," she said. "While there, I built the NAACP entrepreneurship framework for black youth, young adults, and Black women. I partnered with corporations and organizations to understand how their internal and external policies contribute to anti-Blackness."
She also worked with branches across the country on localized issues from labor rights to student activism.
Black History Month is important to her "because breathing while Black is a political statement."
Now, on to the questions!
Q: What do you tell your friends you do for work?
A: I provide recommendations to reduce the adverse equity impact transit has on communities.
Learn more about our office of Civil Rights, Equity & Inclusion here.
Q: What’s your passion outside of your job?
A: Figuring out my identity outside of capitalism.
Q: What attracted you to work at Sound Transit?
A: Moving across country, sight unseen, and getting to know a new season of Simbi! Definitely not the weather. Why are the summers so cold here?
Q: How do you get to work?
A: I use ride share services.
Q: What three things would you take with you to a desert island (besides food and water)?
A: I would not be there! I like WiFi, indoor plumbing and regulating my own heat too much. I will like all of your desert island pics on IG though! #YesQueen
Hear from more Sound Transit employees on what Black Resistance means to them in this video: