KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — On Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat while riding a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. This led to her arrest and the start of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted for more than a year.
"I think history is really important and celebrating those who were courageous enough to do the brave things that had had such a positive impact on our current society and our future," Becca James, the director of marketing for Knoxville Area Transmit, said. "And I mean, we're still continuing to do the work. And the fact that public transit has been a part of the Civil Rights Movement, it's something that we're proud of, and we hope to help continue."
To honor Rosa Parks, KAT marked one seat on each bus on Friday, featuring a placard explaining the importance of Dec. 1. At the same time, civil rights history was happening in East Tennessee.
On Sept. 6, 1955, 85 black students integrated Oak Ridge High School and Robertsville Junior High School.
This means, this happened before the Clinton 12, Little Rock 9 and even Ruby Bridges.
"You can't have a civil rights conversation without bringing up Oak Ridge," John Spratling, the chairman of the Scarboro 85 Monument Committee, said. "You cannot leave us out of that conversation. We predated all of those events."
Spratling said another important anniversary in history is coming up.
On Dec. 3, 1955, Oak Ridge made history again when the first black student-athletes entered an all-white public school or university sporting event in the Southeast. Not just one, but two.
"In the school, you know, that's pretty well documented, but in the sports arena, what's coming up on anniversary Sunday, basically the players on the team but would not get to play in our games, because teams will not play overage because they hit the next race team," Spratling said. "And so the players will get a phone call before the game and the coach will tell them whether they can play or not. And most often, they didn't get to play because other teams refused to play them."
Spratling said without these players paving the way, he would not have been able to be in his position of coaching today.
Spratling said the Scarboro 85 Monument Committee is working to raise money to build a monument commemorating the integration of the schools.
"This monument is going to be a minute to tell the story of the desegregation of the schools, as well as the sports story, and all that were involved," he said. "It took a lot of great leaders that put great sacrifice to their life to make this happen, both Black and white leaders, so this monument will capture all of that. And you know, we have a theme to preserve, educate, heal, and bring unity and unify."
Renee Kesler, president of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center, said it's important to look back at history to honor the pioneers but also to learn from them.
"James Baldwin says, if you're not afraid to look back, the nothing you're facing can frighten you," Kesler said. "I think that's what we have to do. History teaches us to look back, so that we can learn, we can grow, and we can have a brighter future. So our hope is that we're learning from the movement. We're learning from Jim Crow laws and all of the things that were happening during that period of time. We're learning so that we never repeat those. And as long as we remember, we tell the stories, we teach the history, then we have a great shot, not only of not repeating it, but making this world a better place for all people for generations to come."
Kesler said the Beck Cultural Exchange Center has more than 50,000 artifacts showcasing Black History, and in its Civil Rights Hall, you can find pictures and more information on the Civil Rights Movement in Knoxville.