Rosa Parks Plaza

Rosa Parks Plaza

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 19, 2009, a statue of Rosa Parks was unveiled as Lane Transit District’s Eugene Station Plaza was renamed Rosa Parks Plaza. The statue depicts Parks sitting on a bus seat, symbolizing her famous act of civil disobedience.

On Dec. 1, 1955, Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. This act, followed by her arrest for violating Alabama’s segregation laws, led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott and, a year later, to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that bus segregation is unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Racial injustice in transportation and city planning

In July 2020, the City of Eugene Transportation Planning Team began publishing a series of “Anti-Racism Topic of the Month” articles. The planning team acknowledges the need to “build a deeper understanding and awareness of the history of racism in transportation planning—both on a national scale and within our local community.” These articles can be viewed at the links below: https://www.eugene-or.gov/4623/Anti-Racism-Topic-of-the-Month

Directions to the next stop

Go East on 10th and then turn left onto Willamette Street. Proceed straight until you reach The Eugene Depot just past the intersection of 5th and Willamette.