In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr day I am reminded of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.   It was during this boycott  (which also involved the late Detroiter Rosa Parks) that King rose to prominence.  The Boycott also featured predominately in Harry Belafonte’s song “Back of the bus”:

If you miss me at the back of the bus
You can’t find me nowhere
Oh come on over to the front of the bus
Because I’ll be riding up there
I’ll be riding up there, I’ll be riding up there
Come on over to the front of the bus
Because I’ll be riding up there 

As someone who was born post-segregation, it’s hard for me to imagine a bus ride without people of all races.  I’ve never lived in a time when people of color could only sit in certain places on the bus.  I take for granted that the bus is in some ways a place where all races come together in a public space to talk, read, laugh, or just stare out the window.

I am grateful for the work and efforts of men like King and women like Parks on this special memorial day, but know we still have far to go.

I will remember today that public transportation is something that we should all have access to, regardless of the color of our skin or the money in our pocket.  Because if we can’t get get every citizen to the grocery store (or a job), we’ve still got a long ways to go.

In Ann Arbor, we are privileged to have a public transportation system that continues to improve and an unprecedented number of people using it.  Let’s be thankful for what we have . . . and continue to push for more.