Troy University and The U.S. Postal Service launch Rosa Parks’ 100th Birthday Celebration with Historic Stamp Unveiling

Montgomery, AL (PRWEB) January 29, 2013

The event in Montgomery will be held in conjunction with two additional events on the same day in Michigan. The Charles Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit and The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn will join the Montgomery Rosa Parks Museum in celebrating the unveiling of the commemorative stamp on this historic occasion.

The three events are expected to draw stamp collectors, admirers and civil rights leaders from all over the country.

Parks, whose December 1, 1955 arrest aboard a Montgomery city bus served as a catalyst for the Montgomery Bus Boycott, is being honored by the U.S. Postal Service on her centennial birthday with a Forever Stamp, which is always equal in value to the current First Class-Mail one-ounce price.

In Montgomery, Bridgett Carol, the Director of Marketing for the U.S. Postal Service Alabama District and Donnie Snipes, Postmaster for Montgomery, will unveil the new Rosa Parks stamp during the celebration of Parks’ 100th birthday, which will also feature, art, poetry and reflection on Parks’ life and accomplishments.

The Montgomery celebration event will also feature:

• Award-winning poet Nikky Finney reading her poem “Red Velvet,” which is about Rosa Parks.
• Dr. Riche’ Richardson, an associate professor at the Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell University, will present a lecture entitled “Rosa Parks at 100.”
• Museum Director Georgette Norman and Curator Daniel Neil will present the “Rosa Parks 100th

Birthday Wishes Project.” A collection of more than 1,400 “wishes” for the future of the city of
Montgomery and the nation inspired by Parks’ life. Many of these “wishes” have been turned into a series of silkscreen posters, which will be presented to local elected officials and leaders for display around Montgomery.

The celebration event will be held at 6 p.m. at Whitley Hall on Troy University’s Montgomery Campus. Admission is free and open to the public and press is welcome to attend.

About the Montgomery Rosa Parks Museum:
Constructed on the site of the Empire Theatre where Rosa Parks was famously arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery Bus, the Rosa Parks Museum opened in December 2000 with the mission of preserving and interpreting the story and lasting legacy of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

For more information or about this or other museum events, contact Museum Director Georgette Norman at (334) 241-8608, or email at gmnorman(at)troy(dot)edu or visit http://www.troy.edu/rosaparks.