Historical
Token Commemorates Civil Rights Bus Boycott
Actual Bus
Tokens Immortalized As Cufflinks
Allen Stewart, Jr.
CEO of Montgomery City Lines
Bus tokens immortalized as cufflinks
Atlanta,
GA
(BlackNews.com) - Commemorating the 50th+ anniversary
of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and helping to remember
the birth of the Civil Rights Movement, the actual bus
token that was used in 1955 has been immortalized as
cufflinks. These upscale cufflinks have been provided
for your family to enjoy for years to come and are brought
to you not only during Black History Month, but everyday.
They are on sale in several department stores such as
selected Parisian locations and other fine online outlets,
with a suggested manufacture's retail price of $70.00.
The bus token that was a mighty symbol of the struggle
and used by thousands of Blacks to ride Montgomery's
segregated buses has been made available to the public.
The token along with other commemorative items are sold
in selected museums around the country, such as the
Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. Other token
items that are sold are very prestigious award medallions,
pendants, t-shirts, and now the cufflinks commemorating
the 381-day boycott that was prompted by the Dec. 1st
arrest of Rosa Parks in 1955. During the boycott Blacks
refused to ride the buses, which nearly bankrupted the
City's transit system and helped launch the Civil Rights
Movement. "Prior to the dismantling of the bus system,
there were around 6 different tokens used by Montgomery
City Lines," states Allen Stewart, Jr., the current
CEO and Jackson State University alum.
The actual bus token used during the Montgomery bus
boycott was preserved by his great-grandmother. His
mother, Dr. Tonea Stewart most famous for her role on
"In the Heat of Night" and "A Time To Kill," looked
through her mother's memorabilia at her home and came
across the token which she has stated is the "ultimate
symbol of that era." Initially, the rights to the original
token were used as a way of honoring unsung heroes of
the civil rights movement. In an effort to continue
to preserve the integrity of the time, in 2001 the Stewart
and Donahey families re-incorporated Montgomery City
Lines, Inc., which was formerly the name of the Montgomery
bus system, and began making the token available for
all families to share.
Email
This Article To A Friend
