RTD unveiled new bus art, featured live performances during Civil Rights Act 60th anniversary celebration July 20
DENVER (July 22, 2024) –– The Regional Transportation District (RTD) and community partners hosted a celebratory event Saturday, July 20, to honor the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act – a groundbreaking law enacted in 1964 that legally ended discrimination and promoted equal opportunities in transit, employment and public facilities. The free event was open to the public and took place at The Studio Loft in Denver.
During the event, approximately 200 attendees watched as RTD unveiled its community-driven bus art, designed by local artist Dez Merworth, who won RTD’s Bus Design Contest. A panel comprising RTD staff and community partners selected the design from 16 entries with goals of commemorating notable people and achievements to promote equity and inspire change. The bus artwork spotlights national activists and those specific to Colorado. The wrapped bus will circulate throughout the agency’s 2,342-square-mile district through the end of 2024.
RTD General Manager and CEO Debra A. Johnson addressed attendees and said, “Public transportation is the great societal equalizer. I remember the freedom and independence I carried while taking the bus to attend school in another part of the city. In the Denver metro region, RTD plays an important role in advancing racial and social equity, driving political and civic participation, expanding economic and educational opportunities, and increasing mobility for all Coloradans.”
“Dez Merworth did a phenomenal job at capturing all aspects of what the contest was about: the impact the Civil Rights Act has had on our community, recognizing the many individuals and groups nationally and in Colorado that championed equity and accessibility for all, and creating a lively, vibrant design to recognize and celebrate our diverse communities and inspire action. I thank her for her astute detail to the work and to all our community partners who participated,” said RTD Director of Civil Rights Carl Green Jr.
Merworth said, “I'm really excited the bus art is going to be something that so many people can access and see, especially communities that don't necessarily always get to go to art galleries. It makes art accessible.”
As for the inspiration behind the design, Merworth wrote in her contest application, “By showcasing people of all walks of life, following the legacies of some of these brave activists, I hope to remind viewers that disrupting the status quo to fight for equality and equity is a communal and ongoing process. Only by speaking up do we get to create a new narrative for our beloved communities.”
Civil rights activists depicted in the art on the “street side,” or non-curb side, of the bus, from left to right, are Angela Davis, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Clyde Merton Warrior, Gerald Gerash, Edna Wilson-Mosely, a protester from the Gang of 19 – Atlantis community, Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales and Larry Itliong. The side of the bus that faces the curb features portraits of individuals in Colorado. The design on the back of the bus includes the Progress Pride flag. All sides of the bus “have flowers that represent hope, change, resistance and community care,” Merworth said.
Saturday’s Civil Rights celebration featured a lineup of music, youth break dancers, a poetry slam champion and Dragon and Lion dancing to honor the civil rights movement, celebrate Denver’s diverse community and honor other achievements to bring about equity, accessibility and fairness.
RTD sponsored the celebration in collaboration with Denver NAACP, ACLU Colorado, One Colorado, Colorado Asian Pacific United, Servicios de La Raza, Atlantis Community, Inc., Warm Cookies of the Revolution, Denver Regional Mobility and Access Council, Denver Streets Partnership and CREA Results.
Other bus wraps celebrating diversity that RTD is circulating across routes include the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage bus wrap, which debuted in May, and the Pride Bus, which started circulating in June. In mid-September, RTD will reveal a special bus wrap to honor Hispanic Heritage Month.
To see the Civil Rights 60th anniversary-inspired artwork, visit this page.