Rosa Parks Statue To Be Unveiled Sunday

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A new statue of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks will stand in downtown Montgomery.

The city said the statue will be unveiled Sunday at 1 p.m. at Montgomery Plaza at the Court Street Fountain.

The unveiling coincides with the anniversary of Parks’ historic Dec. 1, 1955 arrest for refusing to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man. Her arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement.

There will also be four granite markers to honor the plaintiffs in Browder v. Gayle - the landmark case that ruled segregation on Montgomery buses unconstitutional.

The civil rights memorials are a partnership among the city and county, the Alabama tourism department and the Montgomery Area Business Committee for the Arts.