Mural honors Nashville’s first female bus driver, Elizabeth Duff

By Forrest Sanders

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    NASHVILLE (WTVF) — In the 1950s, a little girl was stopped from sitting at the front of a bus. She took that and later made Nashville history. There’s a beautiful new way the city will learn her story.

No matter where he is, Harry Duff is proud to show you a picture of his wife, Elizabeth Duff. He’s been showing one picture in his wallet for at least 45 years.

“Since she had it made!” Harry laughed. “I couldn’t help myself! Some guys say, ‘What your wife look like?’ I show them the picture, they say ‘ohhh!'”

Elizabeth was a little girl, growing up in a segregated Nashville in the 1950s. On her very first bus ride, she wanted to sit up front, but she was stopped. She was told that was only for white passengers.

“She said, ‘that’s OK. One day I’m gonna sit up front, but I’m gonna drive!'” Harry smiled.

Then came 1974.

“She got the word MTA was hiring women,” Harry remembered. “She said, ‘That’s my chance!'”

Driving around her city, Elizabeth became the first woman to be a bus operator for Nashville’s then-called MTA.

“She opened up a door,” Harry said. “She not only stepped in by herself, but she left the door open for somebody to come behind her.”

Elizabeth drove for 33 years and retired. She died in 2021. Her name is now carried by the Elizabeth Duff Transit Center At WeGo Central. On Thursday morning, something brought Harry and the rest of the family there for a visit.

“To the riders who pass through here, the transit center that bears her name, they will know that name in perpetuity,” Mayor Freddie O’Connell said to a crowd.

Harry went up to speak at a mural unveiling in honor of his wife at the Elizabeth Duff Transit Center At WeGo Central.

“Anything you need or want, you gotta work for it,” he told the crowd. “She got to fulfill some of the dreams that she wanted.”

It was time to see the mural. There’s something you should know about that picture of Elizabeth that Harry’s carried all those years. Now, everyone’s going to see it. Harry’s picture of his wife is part of the inspiration for a 1,400 square foot mural created by members of the non-profit Creative Girls Rock.

It’s hard for a family to put into words how they feel about this work. Harry and Elizabeth’s son Seneca views it as capturing an inspirational person.

“For all the young women across the city, across the nation, she’s someone to look up to,” Seneca said. “You can’t be afraid to take that step forward for that thing you didn’t think you could do.”

“I am very proud of her and what she accomplished,” Harry said.

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