Rosa Parks sitting at the Front of the bus now

On my walk through Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan, I came upon the crypt and chapel dedicated to the iconic civil rights activist, Rosa Parks.

In 1955, while quietly seated on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa was asked by the bus driver to give up her seat to a white man. Her courageous refusal sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, led by a young Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and became a pivotal moment in the struggle for civil rights.

The boycott lasted over a year and ended when the U.S. Supreme Court declared bus segregation unconstitutional. Despite the victory, Rosa faced harsh consequences—she lost her job as white employers saw her as a threat, leading to financial hardships. Yet, her quiet strength and dignity made her the enduring face of the Civil Rights Movement.

1979 Rosa Parks in the blue dress in a receiving line inside the Detroit Historical Museum at the opening of the Great Beautiful Black Women exhibition. 

Honoured with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal, and over two dozen honorary doctorates worldwide, Rosa Louise McCauley Parks passed away in her modest Detroit apartment on October 24, 2005, at the age of 92.

In a historic tribute, her casket was placed in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol for two days of public viewing—making her the first woman and only the second African-American to lie in state there.

Rosa’s casket was guarded by members of the six branches of the United States armed forces. By regulation and custom, only presidents, military commanders, justices of the Supreme Court, and members of Congress are granted the honour of lying in state. Rosa was a worthy exception.

1913-2005

Photos inside the Rosa L Parks Freedom Chapel, Woodlawn Cemetery, Detroit.

In May 2012 Rosa Parks statue was dedicated in the Washington Cathedral’s Human Rights Porch, Washington D.C.

My recent trip to the City of Detroit and drove along Rosa Parks Boulevard in the west side near Corktown.