NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Thursday, WeGo will dedicate a transit center to a Nashville pioneer who paved the way for bus drivers. Elizabeth Duff was the first African American female bus driver in the city.
Growing up in a segregated Nashville in the 1950s, Duff once tried to sit at the front of the public city bus, were a sign warned that seats were for whites only.
Her mother quickly pulled her back. Her family said she had a determination that pushed her forward and a drive that put Duff at the front of the bus. She became the first African American female bus operator in Nashville when she was hired by M-T-A in 1974. Breaking gender and color barriers also meant that Mrs. Duff endured sexism and racism.
In the male dominated field, people sometimes questioned her ability to drive and said hurtful things to her from the seats behind, but she kept driving and leaving a legacy behind. She died in 2021 at the age of 72 from COVID-19.
Transit staff, community members, and lawmakers will join the family of Elizabeth Duff to officially rename WeGo Central the "Elizabeth Duff Transit Center” at 10 a.m. The ceremony will be at the WeGo Central on Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard.
There will be new signage and a rendering example of future historical displays unveiled during the ceremony. Mayor O’Connell will speak as well as Duff's husband. WeGo says it's an honor to spotlight someone who was a trailblazer here in Nashville.
