Standing for Justice: Rosa Parks’ Detroit

This event is free to the public, but registration is required. RSVP here.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks courageously refused to move to the back of a Montgomery, Alabama, bus, and in doing so fueled a civil rights movement that continues to this day.

On the 69th anniversary of Rosa Parks' arrest, join us in honoring her legacy with an afternoon of curated programming alongside Dr. Jeanne Theoharis, author of The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, and Dorothy Dewberry Aldridge, native-Detroit civil and human rights advocate who fought beside Mrs. Parks.

The event will begin with a free screening of the adapted documentary of Dr. Theoharis' political biography of Parks. Premiering at Tribeca Film Festival in 2022, The Rebellious life of Mrs. Rosa Parks is a comprehensive telling of the icon's lifelong dedication to activism. The film chronicles Rosa Parks' historic role in the Montgomery bus boycott, her work in politics alongside Congressman John Conyers in Detroit, and the many causes along the way — such as voting rights and reparations — that she fearlessly championed until her death in 2005.

Following the screening, Amber N. Mitchell, Curator of Black History at the Henry Ford, will moderate a panel discussion and Q&A featuring Dr. Jeanne Theoharis and Dorothy Aldridge to further contextualize the growing freedom struggle in Detroit, as well as Mrs. Parks' next 40 years of fighting racism in the North following her forced move from the South.

The afternoon will end with a special book signing reception where Dr. Theoharis will sign special 10th-anniversary editions of her book The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks for purchase. This event marks the first time this edition will be available to the public.

Registration Information

The event is free to the public, but registration is required. Seats are limited.

Register

There is a maximum of six registrants per entry. Registrants will receive confirmation and event reminders via email. Please show these confirmations upon entry to the event.

Registration will close on Tuesday, November 26 at 11:59 p.m. ET or earlier if capacity is reached.

Distinguished Panelists

Dr. Jeanne Theoharis is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Brooklyn College of City University of New York and the author or co-author of 12 books and numerous articles on the contemporary politics of race in the United States. Her New York Times-bestselling biography The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, won a 2014 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work Biography/Autobiography and the Letitia Woods Brown Award from the Association of Black Women Historians. It has been adapted into a documentary of the same name, directed by Johanna Hamilton and Yoruba Richen and executive produced by Soledad O’Brien for NBC-Peacock, where she served as a consulting producer. The film won a Peabody Award, a Television Academy Honor Award, a Gracie Award for Historical Documentary, and the Erik Barnouw Award from the Organization of American Historians. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, MSNBC, The Nation, TIME Magazine, the Atlantic, Boston Review, Salon, the Intercept, and the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Dorothy Dewberry Aldridge is a Detroit native who has dedicated her life to civil and human rights advocacy. Her activism began in the 1950s with the Triple City NAACP Youth Council and extended into full-time work with the Northern Student Movement (NSM) Tutorial Project, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer Project. In 1965, Aldridge and colleagues in Detroit adopted the Lowndes County project, forming a lasting bond with the community. The relationship led to the creation of the Michigan-Lowndes County Christian Movement for Human Rights, which supported voting rights, land acquisition, and educational opportunities in Lowndes County, Alabama. She was a voting delegate to the Sixth Pan-African Congress in Tanzania in 1974 and participated in the Anti-Apartheid and African Liberation Support Movements in 1974. Aldridge continues her civil rights advocacy; she is a board member of the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights (MCHR) and the Viola Liuzzo Park Association. She also serves on the annual MLK Committee and is a member of the National Council of Elders.

Panel Moderator

Amber N. Mitchell is the Curator of Black History at The Henry Ford since 2023. As a public historian, Amber strives to center the stories of African-descended peoples within the American experience and transform cultural and historical institutions into accessible reflections of our multi-dimensional communities.

Entry & Parking Information

Doors will open in Anderson Theater at 2:30 p.m. The screening will begin at 3:00 p.m. and will be followed by a panel discussion, Q&A and book signing reception. This is a free public event; museum admission is not required.

Free parking is available in the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation lot off Oakwood Boulevard near the museum Welcome Center. The Clocktower entrance on the brick circle drive may be used for pick up/drop off for guests who need special assistance.

Please note that parts of Oakwood Boulevard may be impacted by construction. Be prepared for traffic delays or detours. We apologize for any inconvenience.

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