Lebanon Transit is teaming up with the NAACP Lebanon County Chapter 26AA to honor civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks on what would have been her 113th birthday.
Transit officials and NAACP volunteers will serve free pancakes and hot coffee inside the 7th & Willow Transfer Station on Wednesday in recognition of Transit Equity Day.
According to organizers, the “featherlite” pancakes are made according to Rosa Parks’ personal recipe, released by the Library of Congress in 2015. The recipe, organizers said, was found among Parks’ personal records, handwritten on the back of a Detroit bank envelope. Since the recipe contains peanut butter, regular pancakes will be available for people with peanut allergies.
The effort is part of Transit Equity Day, observed annually on February 4 to commemorate the life and legacy of Rosa Parks on her birthday. Parks became a key figure in the Civil Rights era when she refused to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery, Alabama public transit bus and was arrested on December 1, 1955. Her actions sparked the Montgomery bus boycott four days later, and ultimately the U.S. Supreme Court decision declaring segregation on buses unconstitutional.
“The actions and legacy of Rosa Parks, and Claudette Colvin before her, are intrinsically tied to the concept of transit equity for all” said Lebanon Transit executive director Angela Luciotti. “Lebanon Transit is committed to this through our mission to provide safe, efficient, convenient and affordable public transportation.”
Service will take place 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.