A seat reserved for Rosa Parks
Photo Courtesy of The Lamron Knight’s Life Editor Regan Russel
RTS buses on campus kicked off the start of Black History Month in a questionable manner. A number of students have reported that many RTS-Livingston buses have taped-off the first seat and dubbed them as ‘reserved for Rosa Parks.' There have been mixed responses from students who found this act intending to celebrate the life and accomplishments of Parks conflicting. The student body is unsure when or where this began; struggling to understand the objective of this seemingly performative act. The simple answer is: Transit Equality Day, also known as Transit Equity Day, a holiday being directly tied to the civil rights leader Rosa Parks. In honor of Transit Equity Day, which falls on Parks’ birthday, Feb. 4, around 400 RTS buses will have a seat reserved for the civil rights icon.
This holiday is relatively new, created by a network of unions in 2017 and was celebrated federally in 2021 across multiple states including California, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Since 2022, Transit Equity Day has been gaining wider celebration.
Parks played a pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott when she refused to surrender her seat to a White passenger in Alabama. The Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted from December 1955 to December 1956, was a transformative event in the civil rights movement that led to the class action lawsuit; Browder v. Gayle. On Dec. 21, 1956, segregation on public buses in Montgomery was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
The “reserved seat” is a puzzling attempt at honoring and recognizing the efforts of Parks as it defeats the purpose of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This also overshadows efforts of other civil rights activists who contributed during the 13-month non-violent mass protest, as well as those who came before Parks.
Nine months before Parks refused to give up her seat, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin was arrested in Montgomery for the same act. There is a common misconception that Colvin was not the face of the movement due to her pregnancy and age. In reality, Edgar Daniel Nixon, American civil rights activist and union organizer in Alabama, was convinced Colvin was not an ideal plaintiff in the Browder v. Gayle case. Nixon was searching for an appeal to a higher court, and Colvin’s protest informed other activists, like Parks, to resist the segregation laws who were also seen as more marketable to the courts.
This display by RTS is definitely a start, and while the effort is appreciated, we still have a ways to go when it comes to recognizing Black figures and their contributions. As a Black student on this campus, I do believe there are better ways to honor Black women, Black activists, and other Black figures who have paved the way for others today.
We must remember that the efforts of the RTS bus system do not overlap with how Geneseo remembers and honors Black rights activists and celebrates their Black students during Black History Month. Along with Rosa Parks, we should be acknowledging the contributions of uncelebrated activists such as Auerlia Browder, Jo Ann Robinson, Mary Louise Smith, and E.D. Nixon who are not as well recognized on Transit Equity Day. I think we should be more aware of Parks and other civil rights leaders who participated in the resistance to segregation laws and there should be a more progressive tactic in remembrance and celebration.