Tags
american history, black history, capitol hill, civil rights, don't duck history, rosa parks, statues, women in history
Today is Rosa Parks’ birthday.
Born on February 4, 1913, she is most known in American history as the lady who refused to give up her bus seat one day in Montgomery, Alabama, but there’s so much more! On a trip to Washington, D.C., we (me, the hubby, and grandkids) took a tour of Capitol Hill. Part of that tour included time spent viewing the National Statuary Hall Collection, which is a collection of statues of historical figures presented by individual states. With a twist.
As it turns out, there is a statue of Rosa Parks amongst the statues in the collection, though technically the statue is not part of the collection. Her statue is there due to a special act of Congress, and was not commissioned by any particular state. That’s the twist. Her statue is also the first one that featured an African-American in full length (vs. the busts of MLK, Jr. and Sojourner Truth, for example). That is history!
Rosa Parks statue in the U.S. Capitol. Photo credit: Tracy Clark
Squeaks and quacks:
Check out more about the lady that you probably didn’t read in a history book here: http://www.aoc.gov/capitol-hill/other-statues/rosa-parks
More about her statue here: http://www.aoc.gov/capitol-hill/other-statues/rosa-parks
Check out other statues, busts, and other sculptures at the Capitol here: http://www.aoc.gov/capitol-hill/sculpture
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