WORCESTER, Mass. - In recognition of Black History Month, this February, the Worcester Regional Transit Authority will reserve a seat on every bus in honor of Rosa Parks. 

The WRTA said a sign (see below) will reserve one seat on every bus in its fleet. 

The sign reads: “Rosa Parks was called the ‘First Lady of Civil Rights’ and ‘The Mother of the Freedom Movement’ by the United States Congress.”

While riding a bus in Montgomery, Ala. in 1955, Parks didn’t give up her seat when told to do so by the bus driver. Parks’ refusal to give up the seat and her arrest helped spark the Civil Rights Movement, ignited the Montgomery bus boycott and ultimately led to bus segregation being deemed unconstitutional in 1965 under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.