Transit Equity Day celebrates Rosa Parks and her iconic defiance of racial segregation

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - The state of Wisconsin is celebrating the fourth Transit Equity Day on Friday to commemorate Rosa Parks’ birthday.

Rosa Parks was a civil rights icon and activist who was instructed to move to the back of a Montgomery, Alabama city bus in 1955. She refused. Her act of defiance is considered a pivotal moment that helped spark the Civil Rights Movement.

Parks was born on February 4, 1913 and died in 2005 at 92-years-old.

“We celebrate not only her act of resistance but the right for all to have affordable and efficient public transit,” said Gregg May, with 1000 Friends of Wisconsin.

“And while we acknowledge Rosa Parks on this day, we must also acknowledge the numerous people that came before her and worked with her, especially those who did the organizing that laid the groundwork for her civil disobedience,” said Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway.

Mayor Rhodes-Conway says making sure everyone has access to affordable and efficient public transportation is a top priority.

“We know that public transit is a critical transport resource for low-income communities and those communities are not always well-served by transit here in Madison,” she said. “During the pandemic, it became even clearer to use what an essential service Metro Transit is,”

“Rosa Parks left a remarkable legacy, one that we still recognize to this day,” said state senator Jeff Smith. “I’m honored to have introduced a statewide resolution to designate February 4th as Transit Equity Day to celebrate her life, remember her activism and show our commitment to accessible public transit.”

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