Transit agencies reserve a front seat on buses to honor Rosa Parks

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Laketran and Geauga Transit will honor the life of civil rights icon Rosa Parks this week by reserving the front seat on their buses.

From Feb. 3 through Feb. 8, a commemorative sign reading “Reserved in honor of Rosa Parks. It all started on a bus. We honor the courage of Rosa Parks and her vision for equal access for all,” will be placed on the reserved seat.

Pam Morse, Past President of NAACP of Lake County, encourages individuals to actively participate in the tribute by riding Laketran buses and taking selfies next to the seat reserved for Parks.

“This tribute provides an opportunity to reflect on our history and celebrate the progress we’ve made as a country,” shared Morse.

The NAACP of Lake County is offering free All-Day bus passes to those interested in riding Laketran during the Rosa Parks' tribute.

Free bus passes can be picked up at Painesville Furniture & Carpet, located at 83 S. State Street in Painesville.

Parks, born on Feb. 4, 1913, is known as the “Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement.”

In December 1955, she started the year-long Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott after refusing to give her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus.

Almost a year later, in November 1956, a federal court ruled bus segregation is unconstitutional.