Hundreds gathered in Montgomery, Alabama’s Court Square on Sunday for the unveiling of a statue in honor of Rosa Parks. According to the Montgomery Advertiser, the ceremony that took place downtown was one of many tributes to the civil rights pioneer to commemorate the day she was arrested in 1955 for her refusal to give up her seat on a city bus to a white man.
Sunday’s ceremony marked the second year that the city of Montgomery celebrated the national hero with her own day. During remarks, newly minted mayor, Steven Reed, touched on her importance to the city and the country.
“Today, on the second official Rosa Parks Day, we honor a seamstress and a servant, one whose courage ran counter to her physical stature,” Montgomery’s first African American mayor said. “She was a consummate contributor to equality and did so with a quiet humility that is an example for all of us.”
Also honored during the event were the plaintiffs of Browder v. Gayle. The city presented two historic markers, according to The Advertiser, to commemorate the landmark case that made it unconstitutional to uphold segregation on Montgomery buses. In attendance was the attorney who defended both Parks and the plaintiffs of the groundbreaking lawsuit.
The Montgomery bus boycott, under the organization of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., came in the aftermath of Park’s arrest. The rejection of the bus system by the Black community lasted 381 days and triggered a ruling on desegregation by the Supreme Court.
Since Park’s heroic stance in Montgomery on December 1, 1955, a number of songs, films, dolls, and artistic displays have been created in her honor. Even in her death, she remains a perpetual symbol of change by way of resistance.