WASHINGTON — Editor's note: The video attached to the article is from a story WUSA9 did in December of 2016.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is paying tribute to the legacy and courage of civil rights icon Rosa Parks with commemorative seats reserved in her honor on every bus across Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.
Residents and tourists had the opportunity to witness and explore the Rosa Parks Bus for several hours Thursday at the Anacostia Metro Station.
Rosa Parks Day recognizes the civil rights leader on two special days. The first day is Feb. 4, the day of Park's birthday and Transit Equity Day, a collaborative effort of several organizations and unions to promote public transit as a civil right and a strategy to combat climate change, according to Labor Network for Sustainability. The second day is Dec. 1.
On Dec. 1, 1955, Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, after a long day at the Montgomery Fair department, where she worked as a seamstress. The driver of the bus asked Parks and three other Black passengers to give up the seat to the white passengers, but then 42-year-old Parks refused.
Parks was arrested for violating a city law requiring racial segregation of public buses. The courts found Parks guilty of violating the city ordinance. She was fined $10 plus a court fee.
Parks' refusal helped spark the Montgomery bus boycott, organized by African American community leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr. and E.D. Nixon, according to the National Archives.
The boycott succeeded and lasted for nearly 381 days, which devastated the transportation system in Montgomery and captured the world's attention. The boycott led to the Supreme Court ruling declaring segregation on public transportation systems unconstitutional.