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Rosa Parks Museum, Montgomery, AlabamaBy Carol Muse EvansIt was December 1, 1955, when seamstress Rosa Parks, now called the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement,” was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man in Alabama.
Parks courageous act changed the course of segregation in America, and it gave birth to the Montgomery Bus Boycott that helped shape the way segregation would later been seen and dealt with. The Supreme Court ruled the segregation of bus service to be unconstitutional some 381 days after Parks’ arrest.
When the University acdq1uired the property, it was initially considered for a much-needed parking deck. However, when officials realized the historical significance of the spot and saw how people stopped to read the historical marker already in place there, they had the vision to see what could be a lasting tribute to both Parks and the Civil Rights Movement in Montgomery.
The museum occupies the first floor of a 55,0000-sqare-foot; three-story building that also includes the Troy State University Montgomery Library. It also includes space for permanent and special exhibits, and visitors can often see traveling art exhibits here, too. The space next door was recently purchased by the Museum, and plans are in the works for an interactive children’s museum, according to a Museum official. An attractive gift shop offers not only souvenirs, but also an excellent selection of books and literature of soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement.
If You Go…Rosa Parks Library and Museum PHOTOS BY CAROL MUSE EVANS |
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It was an act of civil disobedience that occurred on a
simple street corner in downtown Montgomery, Alabama, but now the spot
commemorates that event with the Rosa Parks Museum and Library, which sits
on the very spot.
Today, visitors can see this very spot, commemorated in
a beautiful, state-of-the-art museum built in tribute to the woman and her
legacy. The museum is a major landmark in the revitalization of downtown
Montgomery on the site of the old Empire Theatre on the Troy State
University campus. 
The Museum immediately pulls you into the plight of the
African-Americans during Segregation. A gripping film introduced the story,
and then you enter a reconstructed street corner and see the famous bus
where it all started. The lights lower, and visitors see the history
repeating itself through the windows of the bus that have become movie
screens, allowing you to peek inside the bus during that historic December
day.
After the story is told, visitors enter an interpretive
museum, complete with a restored 1955 station wagon and historical documents
of the era loaned to the museum by the City of Montgomery. See the official
police report when Parks was arrested and other police reports of others
that were persecuted or injured during the Boycott itself. Six distinct
areas tell the story of the early civil rights activities, along with Parks
herself.
You can see the museum in a few hours or spend a day
here, reading and studying closely all that the museum has to offer. Parents
will find the museum a great way to bring this bit of Alabama and National
history to life in a way no book can.