MARTA unveils special bus honoring Civil Rights icons

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) revealed a special bus honoring late Civil Rights icons Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery and Evelyn Gibson Lowery on Sunday.

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According to MARTA, Rev. Dr. Lowery served on the MARTA Board of Directors for 24 years, four of which he was a chairman. He was also among the first Black board members and was a part of creating the MARTA’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program.

The program guaranteed minority businesses a chance to prosper from the region’s investment in transit.

Mr. Joseph’s Lowery wife, Evelyn, was also a Civil Rights activist. The pair partnered through every part of the movement, including the Selma to Montogomery march in 1965.

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The bus is part of a series of special buses designed in 2024 featuring Atlanta Civil Rights icons.

“As part of our yearlong celebration of Black history, we want to recognize the profound contributions Dr. Lowery and Evelyn Lowery have made to our transit agency, Atlanta, and the world,” said MARTA General Manager and CEO Collie Greenwood. “As we honor the past, we remain committed to ensuring transit is a place where all are welcome, and much like the Civil Rights movement, where inclusion and equality serve as the foundation for opportunity.”

Other icons designed on the buses include Dr. Martin Luther King, Coretta Scott King, longtime MARTA board member Juanita Jones Abernathy, Congressman John Lewis, and Lillian Miles Lewis. A bus celebrating Ambassador Andrew Young will be unveiled later this year.

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