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February 1 – 5, 2024 To Ignite State, National Collaborative Effort
A consortium emerging from Atlanta, Georgia is showcasing a collaborative 111th birthday commemoration for Mrs. Rosa Parks, often referred to as the “Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement” in America. With the collaborative 111th commemoration comes synergism for public awareness and petition work to support a federal holiday. Mrs. Parks, as a recipient of both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, emphasized that “the work” was not done until she passed in 2005.
A national Rosa Parks Day holiday will ensure Mrs. Parks’ leadership legacy in American history remains present for all Americans. Her indomitable commitment to the critical citizen and government leadership necessary to end the disparity in socio-economic outcomes in America never ceased. That kind of “Mrs. Parks commitment” needed to take on America’s remaining systemic and societal discrimination, organizers say, can be amplified through a federal holiday to ensure “the work” imperative continues forward in the 21st century.
Over the years, Rosa Parks Day stakeholders have conducted events to commemorate Mrs. Parks as individual organizations, or as singular events. This year, however – on Mrs. Parks’ 111th birthday (Feb. 4, 2024) – a collaborative energy has aligned to form a consortium, and hold events centralized in Atlanta, to advocate in unison for making Mrs. Parks’ birthday a national holiday. The current collaborative effort and intention extends to Mrs. Parks’ nieces, grandnieces and grandnephews, as well as to governmental representatives from the communities across the United States that Mrs. Parks served – in the South, in the North, in the Midwest, and on the West coast.
Convened by Former SCLC Youth Director and National Board member Brenda Davenport and Sean and Whitney Carnes, the consortium includes Civil rights, community, and governmental leaders old and young. The following are representative of the organizations and groups participating in the Rosa Parks Consortium: the A. D. King Foundation, Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, the Legacy Movement Connection, SCLC Women, Operation Rosa, Always More Rosa, and Pearls of Freedom.
Several events are being planned to take place in Atlanta between Thursday, Feb. 1 and Monday, Feb. 5, 2024 under the collaborative banner, including: an elected officials’ luncheon launch/news conference at Atlanta City Hall; a Rosa Parks birthday party celebration for students and a voter empowerment session at St. Paul’s AME Church; worship recognition service/petition signing at Ebenezer Baptist Church; and an official Rosa Parks Day at the Georgia State Capitol with a Proclamation presentation/news conference with state officials.
Atlanta’s transit authority, the Metropolitan Atlanta Transit Authority (MARTA) is a sponsor of the Rosa Parks Holiday Weekend, and a commemoration partner. MARTA has offered to make available a historic bus from Rosa Parks’ days, as well as a commemorative MARTA pass with an imprinted image of Mrs. Parks.
For more information, or to sponsor a Rosa Parks Holiday Weekend commemorative event, contact:
Ms. Roberta Abdul-Salaam, 678-508-7388, rosaparksconsortium@gmail.com
THURSDAY, FEB. 1, 2024
What:
Elected Officials’ Luncheon Launch/News Conference
Where:
Atlanta City Hall, 55 Trinity Ave. SW, Atlanta, GA 30303
Time: 11:00AM – 1:00PM
SATURDAY, FEB. 3, 2024
What:
Rosa Parks Birthday Party Student Invitational and Voter Empowerment Session
Where:
St. Paul AME Church, 1540 Pryor Rd SW, Atlanta, GA 30315
Time: Birthday Party starts at 12Noon. Voter Empowerment Session starts at 1:00PM. Both events run until 3:00PM.
Elected Officials’ Luncheon Launch/News Conference
Where:
Atlanta City Hall, 55 Trinity Ave. SW, Atlanta, GA 30303
Time: 11:00AM – 1:00PM
SATURDAY, FEB. 3, 2024
What:
Rosa Parks Birthday Party Student Invitational and Voter Empowerment Session
Where:
St. Paul AME Church, 1540 Pryor Rd SW, Atlanta, GA 30315
Time: Birthday Party starts at 12Noon. Voter Empowerment Session starts at 1:00PM. Both events run until 3:00PM.
SUNDAY, FEB.4, 2024
What:
Worship Recognition Service/Petition-Signing
Where:
Ebenezer Baptist Church, 101 Jackson St NE, Atlanta, GA 30312
Time: 10:00AM – 12Noon
MONDAY, FEB. 5, 2024
What:
Rosa Parks Day at the Georgia State Capitol
Where:
206 Washington St. SW, Atlanta GA 30334
Time: 12Noon – 2:00PM
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