In the Spirit of Freedom

This card honoring Mrs. Parks' contribution to freedom
appears on all HART buses.

 "I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free... so other people would be also free. " - Rosa Parks

In 1955, a seamstress in Montgomery, Alabama, boarded the bus for home. That bus trip turned out to be a ride into history.

When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white fellow passenger, she helped to spark a revolution that stays with us to this day. And it all started on a bus.

To celebrate Black History Month and in the spirit of Mrs. Parks, who would come to be known as the mother of the civil rights movement, HART is proud to recognize four African-American citizens who have made a difference right here in Tampa Bay.

• Gwen Miller, Chairwoman of the Tampa City Council

• Pat Spencer, Secretary of the Hillsborough County NAACP; serves on the Hillsborough County Civil Service Board

• Clarence Fort, Organizer of the Tampa Martin Luther King Jr. parade

• Alison A. Hewitt, Chairwoman of the HART Board; President of the Central Florida Chapter of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials

Tampa's Transit History
This month's "Next Stop with HART" report takes a closer look at the fascinating story of Tampa's transit history and how it intertwines with the battle for civil rights. Click here to see this very special report, airing this month on CTTV.

For more about HART's recognition of local African-American leaders, click here.

Learn about Rosa Parks' story, her role in the fight for equality, and her lasting legacy at the Parks Institute website here.