A statue of civil rights activist Rosa Parks is unveiled at the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama, on Feb. 14, 2024. The statue of Parks is one of three that will honor civil rights icons. Statues of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis are also planned. (Ralph Chapoco/Alabama Reflector)
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The Equal Justice Initiative has unveiled a statue of Rosa Parks at its Legacy Museum in Montgomery on Wednesday, part of a broader effort to memorialize civil rights icons.
In the coming months, statues for Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis will also be erected at the museum, connected with the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, also known as the lynching memorial.
“We want to just honor these extraordinary people, who lived and worked in our community, and had such a profound impact on the issues that have so lifted our nation,” Bryan Stevenson, executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, said in an interview after the event.
That statue, roughly eight feet high, depicts Parks in a sitting position offset from the base from which she rises. She is locked in a pose of defiance that made her an iconic figure in the fight for civil rights. The statue adds to a space meant for people to reflect on their experiences after visiting the museum, which explores the history of slavery, segregation, and lynching.