Montgomery to Remember Rosa Parks with Several Days of Events
Rosa Parks, whose refusal to move to the back of a bus touched off the Montgomery bus boycott and the beginning of the civil rights movement, is fingerprinted by officer D.H. Lackey in Montgomery, Ala., Feb. 22, 1956. She was among some 100 people charged with violating segregation laws. (AP Photo/Gene Herrick)
The life of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks will be remembers in Montgomery with several days of events.
Parks was a seamstress who became known worldwide for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery city bus to a white man on December 1, 1955, which led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The boycott ran until December 1956 when the U.S Supreme Court ruled that segregation on city buses was unconstitutional.
Here is a list of events from the City of Montgomery:
- FREE Admission to the Rosa Parks Museum, December 1-5
Visitors are invited to enjoy free admission to the Rosa Parks Museum, featuring Mrs. Parks’ original fingerprint card and personal effects from the Library of Congress. The museum is open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Face masks are required, and social distancing must be practiced.
- Rosa Parks’ Day Unity Breakfast, December 1 at 7:30AM
The annual Unity Breakfast will feature special guest Mr. Michael Jackson
- MGM Bus boycott Exhibit at the Legacy Museum December 2 9:00 AM
The Equal Justice Initiative has curated a Montgomery Bus Boycott Exhibit at the Legacy Museum and the admission is $5.00 to both the Museum and the Memorial for Peace and Justice.
- Children’s Arts and Crafts Day December 1 9:00 AM
2nd floor of the Rosa Parks museum Children’s Wing
- Rosa Parks Day Concert December 1 2:00-3:00 PM
Concert will feature The Westerlies featuring “For Rosa” by composer Mason Bynes (in partnership with ClefWorks). Concert will be held in Rosa parks auditorium.
- A Unity Walk to Celebrate Rosa Parks’ Faith and Legacy in the Civil Rights Movement Dec. 1 5:30 pm
Join St. Paul AME Church on their annual Unity March from Dexter Avenue King Memorial Church to the Rosa Parks Museum
- Rosa parks Convocation December 1 7:00 PM
The Rosa parks Community Convocation featuring Carver High School Choir and Der. Bernard Lafayette, Jr. Guest Speaker
- The Quest: A historical Self-Guided Driving Tour December 1-6
Join the MGM Bus Boycott Challenge and become a tourist in your own city! This self-guided driving tour takes you to historical sites to learn about people and places that were pivotal to the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
- Rosa Parks Day and Memorial Unveiling, December 1
In 2020, December 1 was designated as Rosa Parks Day by Montgomery County. This ceremony will include an artwork unveiling in conjunction with the 42nd Air Base Wing at Maxwell Air Force Base to commemorate the contributions of Rosa Parks in Montgomery. The ceremony will take place at 11:30 a.m. by the Rosa Parks Museum entrance.
- Tour Rosa Parks Apartment, December 1 – 5
The Montgomery Housing Authority is opening the doors to the public to tour the home of Mrs. Rosa Parks in honor of the Bus Boycott Celebration. Items inside the home has been preserved or recreated to showcase where many important meetings were held during the Civil Right Movement.
- Tour a 1955 Montgomery Transit Bus, December 1
Located at the Rosa Parks Museum, guests can walk through an exact replica of the iconic bus where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, sparking the beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Tours are available from 9– 5 p.m.
- A Unity Walk to Celebrate Rosa Park’s Faith and Legacy in the Civil Rights Movement
Join St. Paul AME Church on their annual Unity March from Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church to the Rosa Parks Museum.
- A Unity Breakfast, Walk and Convocation to Celebrate Rosa Parks’ Faith and Legacy in the Civil Rights Movement, December 1
In honor of Rosa Parks Day, Saint Paul AME, Mrs. Parks’ home church, invites locals and visitors to attend their Unity Breakfast at St. Paul AME Church at 7:30am. Followed by their annual Unity March from Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church to the Rosa Parks Museum. The march will begin at 5:30 p.m. This event ends with a Community Convocation at St. Paul AME Church at 7pm.
- Georgia Gilmore Food Giveaway, December 2
This day will be an active way to honor the legacy of Georgia Gilmore, a fearless woman who ensured many participants were fed during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Beginning at 9 a.m. at Metropolitan UMC (3108 Rosa Parks Avenue), food will be distributed through a non-contact process. Those interested in volunteering can email info@metromgm.org or call 334-263-0950.
- Live Screening of 382: Organizing for the Future, December 3
The film, 382: Organizing for the Future, highlights not only the Montgomery Bus Boycott, but also modern-day activism currently happening in Montgomery.
- 66th Anniversary Montgomery Bus Boycott Community Educational Forum, December 4
Join community members at the Saint Paul AME Church for workshops including Youth Mentoring, Social Justice Leadership and Reflections: The First 5 Days beginning at 10 a.m. followed by a community forum and the 2021 Rosa Parks Day Youth Essay Competition Awards at 12 p.m. There will also be youth activities including storytelling by Joseph Trimble and a presentation by the Civil Rights Memorial center.
- Preserving Their Legacy: Activists Then and Now, December 4
This program will feature author and activist Karen Gray Houston and the young women of local nonprofit Women in Training and will take place at the Rosa Parks Auditorium beginning at 10 a.m.
- We Create Change Pop-Up Exhibit Opening Reception, December 5
Opening on the anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, this pop-up art exhibit examines several areas of protest including mass incarceration, critical race theory and voter suppression. It will feature conversations from artists and subject matter experts and will take place at KRESS on Dexter beginning at 5 p.m. The exhibit will be on display through December 20th.
- Virtual Mass Meeting Re-enactment, December 6
In honor of Alabama State University’s Ralph D. Abernathy Lecture Series, this annual event celebrates the mass meetings of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and recognizes the brave individuals and organizations involved. During the boycott, these meetings occurred twice-weekly and functioned as informational, strategy-driven and spiritual sessions.
- The Mass Meeting: Understanding the Roles of Churches in Changing Communities, December 6
On the first Monday in December 1955, A mass meeting was held to announce the start of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Join Mayor Steven L. Reed at this community meeting and hear from Bishop J. Drew Sheard at Holt Street Memorial Baptist Church beginning at 7 p.m.
- The Quest: A Historical Scavenger Hunt, December 1-7
This self-guided scavenger hunt takes visitors to historical sites to learn about the people and places that were pivotal to the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Participants who visit all the sites and post on Facebook using the hashtag #mgmbusboycottchallenge will be entered into a drawing to win a historical swag bag. A listing of all sites is available at www.mgmbusboycott.com. Images and locations are provided by the Montgomery Improvement Association and the African American Civil Rights Heritage Sites Consortium.
Participating Museums:
- FREE Admission to the Rosa Parks Museum, December 1-4
Visitors are invited to enjoy free admission to the Rosa Parks Museum and view the Tired of Giving In: 65 Years since the Montgomery Bus Boycott exhibit, featuring Mrs. Parks’ original fingerprint card and personal effects from the Library of Congress, and the Women of the Movement traveling exhibit. The museum is open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- MGM Bus Boycott Exhibit at the Legacy Museum, December 3-6
Visitors can explore the Montgomery Bus Boycott exhibit, curated by the Equal Justice Initiative, at their newly renovated Legacy Museum or pay respects to the victims of lynching and other violent acts of racial terror at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice.
