Rosa Parks Bus before Restoration, Front View, March 2002

01

Artifact Overview

This bus, the site of Rosa Parks's stand against segregation laws, sat as a rusted storage shed before The Henry Ford acquired it and began a full restoration. Parks's act of defiance on December 1, 1955, sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which helped to ignite the Civil Rights Movement. Today, the restored bus survives as a reminder of her courageous activism.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Digital image

Subject Date

March 2002

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

EI.1929.120

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Color

Multicolored

02

Related Artifacts

  • {x.objectKey}-image
    Artifact

    Rosa Parks Bus

    Inside this bus on December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a soft-spoken African-American seamstress, refused to give up her seat to a white man, breaking existing segregation laws. The flawless character and quiet strength she exhibited successfully ignited action in others. For this, many believe Rosa Parks's act was the event that sparked the Civil Rights movement.
03

Related Content

  • Rosa Parks Bus Interior before Restoration, Interior View, March 2002
    Set

    Restoring the Rosa Parks Bus

    • 15 Artifacts
    This bus, the site of Rosa Parks's stand against segregation laws, sat as a rusted storage shed before The Henry Ford acquired it and began a full restoration. Parks's act of defiance on December 1, 1955, sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which helped to ignite the Civil Rights Movement. Today, the restored bus survives as a reminder of her courageous activism.