MLK Day Freedom Train hurting for riders

Monday will mark the 30th time the Freedom Train has carried people up the Peninsula to San Francisco to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. - but unless it attracts more riders, this may be the last trip.

Only 300 people have bought tickets for Monday's ride, organizers said Thursday. The train has been drawing several hundred fewer passengers in recent years than its 1,600 capacity, but this is the most drastic drop-off yet.

"There won't be a train next year if we can't pack the train on Monday," said Kathleen Flynn, president of the group that organizes the ride, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Santa Clara Valley. "We just can't keep running it with so few people."

Last year the train drew 1,200 passengers. It had been pulling full loads most years until the NAACP chapter in San Jose withdrew its support in 2010 in protest of the train group taking donations from San Jose police officers.

The chapter's president cited media reports alleging misconduct toward minorities by San Jose police, and told The Chronicle at the time, "You don't honor someone just because they give you money."

Some members of the NAACP continued to take the train anyway, but ridership hasn't fully recovered. The NAACP didn't issue any statement actively opposing the train this year, but is continuing to withhold its support - and this time, it is for a different reason.

The Rev. Jethroe Moore II, the chapter's president, said he's now unhappy with the train organization because it is too friendly with San Jose city leaders who are trying to cut public-safety employees' pensions. He'd also like to see it become more active on a wider range of civil rights concerns.

"I would love to see us all get on the page and fight for the citizenry of Santa Clara County," Moore said. "But I'll be very honest - the current board seems to be manipulated."

He added, "I would be sad to see this train end."

Flynn said the NAACP's concerns are misplaced and that she hoped the groups could work out their differences.

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MLK Day Freedom Train hurting for riders