Rosa Parks laid the first few bricks in
the Civil Rights Movement by standing up
to inequality and remaining in her seat.
Threatened and manhandled, she was trained,
an unexpected soldier against racism and ignorance
whose legacy drives this nation today.
Sometimes sitting without words is louder
than cars that drive 55 to 90mph.
I-475 is also known as the Rosa Parks Highway.
It is a short, twenty-mile stretch that barely leaves
Toledo and is always covered in orange cones.
Living up to its namesake, constructing
a better way— to drive. Watch
your speed; Rosa may have stayed
but it’s a different kind of danger
if you don’t keep moving. Flashing lights
on the side of the road, stopped
waiting for assistance; keep going.
Don’t miss your exit (if it’s still open).
The possible connections are endless, but
this road doesn’t go on forever.
