With the recent death of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks, the town of Blacksburg will debate a possible tribute to honor her strength and perseverance through struggle that day in 1955.
Everyone knows the story of Rosa Parks, but honoring what she represented is not something everyone does, and Blacksburg town council member Paul Lancaster has proposed an idea that will show admiration for her achievement.
“Blacksburg Town Council will have a resolution on next week’s agenda to reserve a seat on every Blacksburg Transit bus to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama bus,” Lancaster said.
Lancaster said that if the resolution is passed, the tribute will take place Dec. 1, the day of the Montgomery bus boycott.
“Several members of town staff had discussed the idea amongst themselves,” Lancaster said. “I had discussed it with a number of town citizens and everybody thought it would be a simple but effective tribute.”
A rough draft of the resolution was given by Lancaster that said, “On Dec. 1, 2005, in honor of Rosa Parks, the left front seat of each Blacksburg Transit bus will be reserved with the placement of a white ribbon and a small poster containing information about Rosa Parks.”
The resolution also said “each Blacksburg Transit bus will display ‘Rosa Parks’ along with the route information on its LED signs.”
“Paul brought it up at the work session and it was decided that it will be formally addressed at next week’s meeting,” said Joyce Lewis, town council member. “Last night’s meeting was just a work session and at work sessions, formal decisions cannot be made, that is why we have two formal meetings a month.”
Lewis said she thinks the idea Lancaster proposed is a wonderful idea.
“We are all aware of the event that took place 50 years ago,” Lewis said. “But I think the recent death of Ms. Parks may have sparked the idea for overall community awareness.”
The Virginia Tech community seems to have an excited and overall supportive attitude towards this unforgettable occasion.
“I think it’s a very touching and memorable idea,” said Kathryn Graham, professor of English. “We should be proud of the town and the system for this beautiful and symbolic gesture.”
Graham said that it’s wonderful to have that day set apart from the rest as an important day in history, but we should remember the lessons that Parks taught us everyday.
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