The first-of-its-kind Rosa Parks Elementary all-school assembly included a debut performance of the song, “We Ride with Rosa,” by Portland-based musician Aaron Nigel Smith
Something special happened when TriMet teamed up with the students and staff of Portland’s Rosa Parks Elementary School. The students received an in-depth history and civics lesson about their school’s namesake: civil rights icon, Rosa Parks.
It is the second year we have worked with Rosa Parks School to highlight the celebration of Rosa Parks Day. No fares are collected on TriMet buses, trains or our LIFT paratransit service each Feb. 4, to honor Parks’ life and legacy. It’s an annual tradition for TriMet and our local transit partners, now in its fifth year.
While riders hopped on board buses and trains to get going on Tuesday morning, students wearing bold black “I ride with Rosa” t-shirts took the stage inside the North Portland pre-Kindergarten through 5th-grade school. It was time for their first-ever “I Ride with Rosa” all-school assembly.
Following an introduction by Principal Tina Joyce, each class performed a tribute to Rosa Parks. Students recited poems, prose and phrases spoken by Parks. They showed off artwork they had created and performed a reading of a play that described Rosa Parks’ history. They listened as TriMet General Manager Sam Desue Jr. explained how her heroic acts still influence our world today.
“One significant outcome was the United States Supreme Court declaring that segregation on city buses was unconstitutional,” TriMet General Manager Sam Desue Jr. “The ruling helped bring equality to public transportation… That’s why we at TriMet live by the words you see printed on the tribute bus we have parked outside, we welcome all on TriMet.”
The assembly culminated with a debut performance of the song, “We Ride with Rosa,” written by Portland-based, Grammy-nominated musician Aaron Nigel Smith. Smith, an experienced music educator, rehearsed the song with the student body for several weeks, to prepare them for the show.
“We ride with Rosa
Through the streets of change
We ride with Rosa
On our way to brighter days
One woman’s courage
Pave the road and showed the way
We ride with Rosa
Next stop Freedom Lane!”
Following the performance, Smith led everyone in singing Happy Birthday to Rosa Parks. Born in Tuskegee, Alabama in 1913, Rosa Parks would have been 112 years old today. She died in 2005.
All are welcome on TriMet. Today we join transit agencies across the country in celebrating transit equity by honoring the late Rosa Parks.
This December marks 70 years since that fateful day that Parks chose to remain seated when she was told to give up her seat to a white person on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Her bravery and defiance led to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that segregation on city buses was unconstitutional and fueled the civil rights movement across America.
