The Henry Ford Observes Rosa Parks Centennial

Today marks the centennial of the birth of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks.

The birthday is being observed with a full day of events at The Henry Ford in Dearborn. Speakers include civil rights activist Julian Bond and historian Douglas Brinkley. The observances are being streamed on the internet.

The story of Rosa Parks and her refusal to yield her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955 is well known.

You can see the bus at The Henry Ford.

Parks moved to Detroit a couple of years after that day in Montgomery, and she made her home in the Motor City until her death in 2005.

WKAR’s Scott Pohl spoke with Christian Overland of The Henry Ford about Rosa Parks and her life in Detroit.