Henry Ford Museum Waives Admission Fees to Mark 70th Anniversary of Rosa Parks Arrest

The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation will open its doors at no cost on Dec. 1. Parking won't cost a thing, but why? The museum wants to honor exactly 70 years since Rosa Parks' arrest in Montgomery, Alabama, as per MLive. Free entry runs from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Parks refused to surrender her seat to a white passenger on Dec. 1, 1955. She was riding a Montgomery bus. Police arrested her. This single act led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, so it initiated a vital turning point for civil rights across America.

Want to see where it happened? The actual bus sits inside the museum. You'll find it in the With Liberty and Justice for All exhibit.

Other pieces from American history fill the space too. President Abraham Lincoln sat in a rocking chair when an assassin's bullet struck him, and that piece of furniture is here. A drinking fountain marked whites only stands as a stark reminder of segregation's grip on daily life.

Exhibits focus on ordinary citizens who triggered massive shifts in society. The museum sits at 20900 Oakwood Blvd. in Dearborn, and you can visit the official Henry Ford Museum website to learn more. 

After Parks' arrest, Montgomery's Black residents boycotted city buses for more than 381 days. The movement challenged Jim Crow laws that kept public transportation segregated.