The Rosa Parks Bus by Rafael Peixoto Ferreira

“The only tired I was, was tired of giving in.” -Rosa Parks

70 years ago today on December 1, 1955, African-American seamstress Rosa Parks was arrested for failing to give up her seat on a Montgomery city bus to a white man. This broke existing segregation laws, and many believe her courageous act sparked the Civil Rights movement. The Henry Ford has a detailed page on the Rosa Parks bus that the museum was able to purchase the bus at auction for $492,000:

After sitting unprotected in a field for 30 years, it is not surprising that The Rosa Parks bus needed a substantial amount of work. Its seats and engine had been removed, many windows were broken, metal had rusted through and the lime, white and gold paint job was a mere shadow of its former self. Our experienced conservation staff carefully examined the vehicle and consulted with various experts.

Three interested companies bid on the extensive restoration work, and finally, MSX International, an automotive engineering and technical services firm headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, was selected to perform the work at a cost of over $300,000. Museum and MSX employees researched every detail of the bus so that the restoration would be truly authentic. Original material was reused wherever possible and original parts from identical 1948 GM buses were used when necessary. Our goal was to restore the bus to its condition in 1955—a seven-year-old urban transit coach.

I couldn’t think of a more fitting image for this than the Rosa Parks bus, just one of many amazing relics of American history that are displayed at the Henry Ford (see their exhibits). See more in Rafael’s great Detroit gallery.

Here’s Rosa Parks relating the story of that day to the BBC.