TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A piece of Tallahassee history passes by many residents each day, and community members are working to keep the legacy of The Tallahassee Bus Boycott in service.
62 years ago, two African American women and Florida A&M university students, Wilhelmina Jakes and Carrie Patterson, made Tallahassee history by sitting in the "whites only" section of their local bus, and refusing to give up their seat.
Commemorative events began Wednesday as community leaders continue to laud Tallahassee’s contribution to the Civil Rights movement.
“The bus boycott symbolizes the courageous efforts of men and women who thought it was appropriate to stand up so the rest of us could sit down any place we wanted to on the bus line and in Tallahassee, Florida," said Keith Parker, 2018 Tallahassee Bus Boycott Planning Committee Chairman. "So it is a celebration of courage and the valor of men and women who back in the 1950s only had themselves to rely on for support and for safety.”
The annual walk to recreate the steps boycotters would have taken in the 1960s begins Friday at 12 p.m. from FAMU’s grand ballroom.
And the C.K. Steele Bus Station, named in honor of another civil rights leader, will offer free bus rides on Saturday.
