MBTA Buses To Honor Rosa Parks

Gov. Charlie Baker signed legislation Wednesday evening that will establish a permanent honor in the Greater Boston area for civil rights icon Rosa Parks.

All MBTA buses will be required to acknowledge Parks through an LED display or sticker placed in the front left window.

"The MBTA looks forward to honoring Ms. Parks and recognizing her monumental contribution to the civil rights movement," the MBTA said in a statement.

The bill (S 2410) was sponsored by Milton Sen. Walter Timilty.

The bill called for MBTA buses to annually honor Parks, whose refusal in December 1955 to give up her Montgomery, Alabama, bus seat for a white passenger sparked a yearlong bus boycott in that city that ended after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled segregation on public transportation was unconstitutional.

"Ms. Parks is one of the most influential people in the fight for equality. Her dedication to her [principles] and ideals deserves to be recognized," Timilty tweeted on Wednesday. "This is more than just a decal, it's an opportunity for all MA residents to reflect on her contributions to the Civil Rights movement."

In 2005, on the 50th anniversary of Parks' protest, a ceremony outside the State House honored her memory, 200 MBTA buses were draped with banners showing her picture, and flags at the state Transportation Building flew at half-mast.