Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
Watch Live

Rosa Parks Statue, Capitol's First Of African-American Woman, To Be Dedicated

Rosa Parks in June 1999, when she was presented with a Congressional Gold Medal.
William Philpott
Rosa Parks in June 1999, when she was presented with a Congressional Gold Medal.

The late civil rights icon Rosa Parks, who broke racial barriers in 1955 when she would not move to the back of a segregated bus in Montgomery, Ala., will be posthumously part of another barrier-breaking moment on Feb. 27.

The office of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, announced Tuesday that a statue of Parks will be dedicated that day in the National Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol.

According to Boehner's office, "this will be the first statue of an African-American woman to be placed in the Capitol as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection."

Advertisement

President George W. Bush signed legislation in 2005 that directed Congress to add a statue of Parks to the Capitol's collection.

Parks, who would have turned 100 this month, died in 2005.

Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit www.npr.org.

A big decision awaits some voters this July as the race for San Diego County’s Supervisor District 1 seat heats up. Are you ready to vote? Check out the KPBS Voter Hub to learn about the candidates, the key issues the board is facing and how you can make your voice heard.