Yesterday, public bus systems across the country paid tribute to the 50th anniversary of Rosa Parks's decision not to give up her bus seat. New York's MTA got into the act, with limited success, with just a Rosa Parks poster plopped onto seats or just above them. Our readers let us know that varying levels of reaction for the tribute (people sitting in seats, people writing notes on the poster to remind them not to sit in the seat), as well as the fact that some buses didn't seem to have posters. The daily newspapers got mixed reviews as well: The tribute was a good thing, though empty bus seats were not. The NY Times found most people were receptive, though some people still stayed in the seat knowing it was meant to be left open or prompting others to move the poster to a more visible place. The Daily News reported that some people didn't notice the sign (they probably thought, man, another annoying thing from the MTA) and one poster had been ripped off and tossed to the floor. And Newsday spoke to one teenager who thought the tribute was great, but felt that some people would just want to sit down in a seat. Well, if it got just one person on each bus thinking, we'd call it a success.
The tribute was spearheaded by the American Public Transportation Association. And here is the Montgomery Advertiser's site about the bus boycott.
