-Reading-Riding-Recording-
First I completed the riding portion of the assignment. Since my only prior experience of riding public transportation was in Mexico where the buses were very unsanitary, hot and crowded, I was extremely nervous about riding the Greensboro City Bus. While waiting to board the bus I noticed that there was neither seating nor shade available, which was slightly disappointing. So I decided to sit down on the sidewalk to wait. While sitting and waiting on the bus, men in cars that passed by yelled out rather impolite comments, which only made me more nervous about riding. The bus finally pulls up and then starts to drive off and I'm not on it! Ahh! But thankfully the bus driver stops and lets me on. He was an exceptionally nice man that took the time to ask me if I was a student and informed me that I could use my student Id and not have to pay with cash, which was awesome. I causally sat down in the back of the bus and was just looking around like I really got on the bus to go to a certain place. Then I realized 'Oh No!' I'm supposed to be taking pictures and notes. This made me realize that the scary city bus was not so scary after all. Everyone on the bus was really quite, calmly sitting, just looking out the windows. There was even a lady that came over the intercom that let you know your exact location, which I thought was a nice touch. There was also a lot of poles to hold on to, if needed, and the bus did not even smell bad. Also, I noticed the bus was conveniently laid out, much different then any other bus I had ridden. Its layout had some seats parallel to the bus and some perpendicular, this made easier flow for getting on and off the bus. The only things that were unpleasant was that the driver would slam on breaks occasionally, there was not much, if any air-conditioning and to an extent the seats would vibrate you, but these are all small things that can be dealt with easily. I did not do such a good job of collecting my thoughts of what was going on outside of the bus. This may be due to the fact I rode down roads I am familiar with and I guess I figured I needed more of a grasp of what was taking place inside the bus rather then outside the bus.
After the bus ride, I read William H. Chafe's Civility and Civil Rights. I believe since I rode the bus first that it did not have much of an influence on the reading. However, I feel if I had done the reading first it would have had a greater impact on the bus ride because I would of not concentrated so much of what was going on inside the bus but more so the surroundings outside. Also, I would of tried to go by places that were mentioned in the reading. Moreover, while I was reading the history of Greensboro and how it created a huge snowball effect on the civil rights movement, I began to think of how African Americans had to sit in the back of the bus and there I was sitting in the back and the African Americans were in the front, I thought it was quite special since here in Greensboro was one of the first places that equality for all was made possible.
I consider this assignment to be beneficial in learning that one must gain knowledge of the background and history of an environment if they wish to design and recreate something magnificent for it.
Images I took while riding Greensboro public transportation a.k.a. "The City bus" (above and below)
December 1, 1955 - "Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat at the front of the colored section of a bus to a white passenger, defying a southern custom of the time and starting a bus boycott. December 21, 1956, the buses were desegregated." (http://www.ateacherslove.com/photos.html, Yshonda R. Wisher)
September 1957 - " Little Rock Nine attempt to desegregate Central High. The nine black students are blocked from entering the school on the orders of Governor Orval Faubus. President Eisenhower sends federal troops and the National Guard to intervene on behalf of the students." (http://www.ateacherslove.com/photos.html, Yshonda R. Wisher)
February 1, 1960 - "Greensboro, N.C. Sit-ins non-violent student protest proved to be beneficial in the civil rights movement. Four black students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College begin a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter. Student sit-ins would be effective throughout the Deep South in integrating parks, swimming pools, theaters, libraries, and other public facilities." (http://www.ateacherslove.com/photos.html, Yshonda R. Wisher)
