Restoring the Rosa Parks Bus
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The Montgomery city bus aboard which Rosa Parks defied segregation sat as a rusted storage shed before The Henry Ford acquired it in 2001. Today, the fully restored bus in Henry Ford Museum stands as an inspiring reminder of her courageous activism.
Rosa Parks Bus Interior before Restoration, Interior View, March 2002
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.
View ArtifactRosa Parks Bus before Restoration, March 2002
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.
View ArtifactRosa Parks Bus before Restoration, March 2002 - 1
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.
View ArtifactRosa Parks Bus before Restoration, Interior, Driver's Area, March 2002
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.
View ArtifactRosa Parks Bus before Restoration, Front View, March 2002
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.
View ArtifactRosa Parks Bus - 3
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.
View ArtifactRosa Parks Bus before Restoration, outside Henry Ford Museum, September 12, 2002
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.
View ArtifactRosa Parks Bus during Restoration at MSX International, 2002
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.
View ArtifactRosa Parks Bus during Restoration at MSX International, Front Detail, 2002
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.
View ArtifactRosa Parks Bus during Restoration at MSX International, Interior View, 2002
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.
View ArtifactRosa Parks Bus in Montgomery, Alabama, 2000-2001, before Acquisition by The Henry Ford
Notes in a scrapbook kept by a Montgomery City bus lines manager helped The Henry Ford confirm that bus #2857 was the site of Rosa Parks's 1955 stand against segregation laws. The Henry Ford acquired bus #2857, then a rusted storage shed, in 2001. Today, the fully restored bus in Henry Ford Museum survives as a reminder of Parks's courageous activism.
View ArtifactRosa Parks Bus in Montgomery, Alabama, 2000-2001, before Acquisition by The Henry Ford - 1
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.
View ArtifactRosa Parks Bus in Montgomery, Alabama, 2000-2001, before Acquisition by The Henry Ford - 2
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.
View ArtifactRosa Parks Bus in Montgomery, Alabama, 2000-2001, before Acquisition by The Henry Ford - 3
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.
View ArtifactRosa Parks Bus in Montgomery, Alabama, 2000-2001, before Acquisition by The Henry Ford - 4
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.
View Artifact

