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The publication of parts of Rosa Parks' archive, specifically a letter in which she describes an attempted rape by her employer, has angered members of the Institute she founded. Parks wrote of the encounter, "I was trapped and helpless. I was hurt and sickened through with anger and disgust." (Previously it was described as an "essay," but ABC News calls it a "letter.") A lawyer for the institute says, "The fact is she didn't want the document to be disclosed. It's equivalent to looking through her diary or journal. … She never authorized any person to look through her private papers." More »
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"I was ready to die but give my consent never. Never, never." Those were the words Rosa Parks used in a never-published, never-before-seen essay on an encounter that took place when she was 18 and working as a housekeeper for a white neighbor. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5825962&view=rss&microfeed=true A man named Norris Sydnor III is suing a Maryland salon for charging him $1 more for his manicure than it would charge a woman. He wants $200,000 in damages, and his lawyer is comparing him to Rosa Parks. Both of these things are completely ridiculous. Although we do think maybe he should get his $1 back. Then he should start his own salon — Norris Sydnor Nails has a nice ring to it. More »
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She passed away in 2005, but today would have been the civil rights legend's 98th birthday. Raise several overflowing glasses to her, please. More »
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Whether or not you're working today (we are!), here are some of the best readings and photos we've found to commemorate this day and the broader civil rights movement — as well as its contemporary relevance and ongoing work. More »
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Ugh! Actual sentences written without irony: "The Rosa Parks of WomenSports Opportunities." "The Rosa Parks of the wind movement." "The Rosa Parks of smoking weed." [The Rosa Parks of Rosa Parks Blogs] More »
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Odetta, the singer whom Rosa Parks adored and Martin Luther King Jr. called the queen of American folk music, died yesterday at the age of 77. She was, by all accounts, a legend, with a powerful voice, and the prison songs and work songs of the Deep South shaped her life. Odetta sang at the march on Washington in August of 1963. Her song that day was "O Freedom," dating to slavery days. From The New York Times: More »
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Rosa Parks died in 2005 at the age of 92 in Detroit, having founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, to which she left her almost all of her estate and effects. As MSNBC is reporting, those effects are set to go on the auction block at Guernsey's, which is currently trying to find a buyer to acquire the entire collection (valued at $10 million dollars). Bill Gates? Bono? Oprah? The Smithsonian? Are you listening? [MSNBC] More »
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