The front-row seat on all Unitrans buses will be left empty on Dec. 1 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rosa Parks' groundbreaking act of civil disobedience, Unitrans announced today.

Each of the empty front-row seats will be adorned with a poster paying tribute to Parks and the anniversary of the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott that fueled the civil rights movement.

The poster features a picture of Parks seated in a bus with an inscription that reads, in part: "On December 1, 1955, she changed the course of history and inspired us all."

"Rosa Parks' quiet act of defiance in the face of racial prejudice set in motion a series of events that continue to benefit the nation today," said Geoff Straw, Unitrans General Manager. "Unitrans is joining with transit providers from throughout the nation to celebrate the legacy of Rosa Parks, which began on a bus. She was a pioneer and a hero."

The American Public Transportation Association has also declared Dec. 1 to be "National Transit Tribute to Rosa Parks Day."

On the evening of Dec. 1, 1955, Parks, a seamstress who was riding the bus home from work, refused to rise and give up her seat to a white passenger. She was subsequently arrested and put in jail. Her simple refusal to relinquish her seat set off a yearlong boycott of the city's bus system by African Americans. It also elevated the profile of a Baptist preacher named Martin Luther King Jr. to national prominence. Later, the U.S. Supreme Court would rule segregation on buses to be illegal.

Parks has often been called the "mother of the civil rights movement" in America. Although it took many years, her pivotal role in the civil rights movement was recognized when she was presented with the Martin Luther King Jr. Nonviolent Peace Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Known for its trademark London double-decker buses, Unitrans provides weekday transportation to more than 20,000 Davis residents. Unitrans uses 40 buses on 15 routes to carry more than 3 million passengers each year.

Unitrans was founded in 1968 by the Associated Students of UC Davis to provide transportation for students. In 1972, Unitrans teamed up with the City of Davis to provide transportation services to the entire city, a partnership that has endured to this day.