GRTC honoring Rosa Parks on all city busses today

On the anniversary of an historic Civil Rights movement, GRTC is paying special tribute to Rosa Parks today, Thursday, December 1st.

Parks is most well-known for her act of defiance on a Montgomery, AL bus on December 1, 1955 that changed the course of history. On that date, she refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger, resulting in her arrest and a fine. Four days later, in response to Parks’ arrest, a year-long bus boycott began. The boycott only ended when the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on public transportation was illegal.

Mrs. Parks, the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement,” will be honored by GRTC in a fitting tribute by reserving the first passenger seat on every GRTC bus on the anniversary, Thursday, December 1, 2016.

Each seat will have a commemorative sign displayed on them, honoring both Parks’ legacy and her dedication to the Civil Rights Movement. Operators will keep bus headlights on all day to represent her light, and the bus electronic header signs will rotate with a special message honoring Rosa Parks.