S5101

Rosa Parks

Civil Rights Pioneer

Collins Cover Announcement 

ROSA PARKS 

Civil Rights Pioneer

The United States Congress has called Rosa "the First Lady of Civil rights" and "the Mother of the Freedom Movement." My individually hand painted cachet shows Parks as she appeared in 1955 when her civil act of defiance sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott in Alabama. Both her refusal to give up her seat to a white passenger and the ensuing boycott became important symbols of the modern Civil Rights Movement. In addition to the portrait of Rosa, the cover shows one of the municipal busses in the exact colors as of that December 1, 1955 day.

Her act was a private one that demonstrated much personal courage. As a result of her defiance, Parks was fired from a job as seamstress at a local department store. She moved north and found similar employment. Ten years later she became a secretary for Congressman John Conyers and held that position from 1965 to 1988.

By insisting_ on her individual rights, this ordinary citizen became an extraordinary historic figure. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. After her death, a posthumous statue was dedicated in the U. S. Capital's National Statuary Hall. And upon her death in 2005, she was the first woman, the second African-American, and the second non-government person to lie in honor at the Capitol Rotunda.

My First Day Cover for a lady of courage — Rosa Parks — is now ready. Collins #S5101 at S14.00.