The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks
Author Jean Theoharis speaking before an audience of 300 in Hendrix Theatre on February 17, 2014.
Jeanne Theoharis signs a copy of her book, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, for Dr. David Dennard from History.
The East Carolina Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi sponsored a lecture by Dr. Jeanne Theoharis, Professor of Political Science at Brooklyn College, about her new book, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, on Monday, February 17, 2013, in Hendrix Theatre on campus.. Afterward she signed copies of her book for those in attendance. Earlier in the day, Theoharis met with students in the Ledonia Wright Cultural Center to answer questions about her research. Theoharis has written the first comprehensive biography of Mrs. Parks, whose existence demonstrated-in her own words-a “life history of being rebellious.” From her family’s support of Marcus.
Garvey to her service with the NAACP in Alabama in the 1940s and 1950s, and from her courageous bus arrest and steadfast efforts on behalf of the Montgomery bus boycott to her work in Detroit challenging Northern racial inequality on behalf of a newly elected Congressman John Conyers and alongside Black Power advocates, Parks’ contributions to the civil rights movement go far beyond a single day. Even as economic hardship and constant death threats exacted a steep toll on Rosa and her husband, Raymond, she remained committed to exposing and eradicating racial inequality in jobs, schools, public services, and the criminal justice system. In her talk, Theoharis detailed the political depth of a national heroine who dedicated her life to fighting American inequality and, in the process, resurrects an inspiring civil rights movement radical who has been hidden in plain sight far too long.