The US Postal Service had a special present for Rosa Parks on what would have been her 100th birthday. The civil rights pioneer is being honored with her face on a “forever” stamp. These kinds of stamps are called “forever” because their price never changes. The first Rosa Parks stamps were issued today in commemoration of her contributions to the African American Civil Rights movement. Parks became famous when she refused to relinquish her seat on a bus to a white man. Buses were segregated by law at the time so Parks was arrested for her refusal. Her act of defiance helped start the 381-day bus boycott, one of the first mass actions led by Dr Martin Luther King Jr. She appealed her case and ultimately the Supreme Court ruled segregation on buses was unconstitutional.
“[Parks’s] quiet strength helped to change a nation,” Deputy Postmaster General Ronald A. Stroman said. “Let this stamp be a symbol of her courage and determination. And let it remind us to never forget the indignities of days gone by — and to never stop fighting for the aspirations of generations yet unborn.”
Rosa Parks’ stamp is the second in a series of Civil Rights movement themed stamps being issued by the US Postal Service. They will release one every month until August when the stamp recognizing the 50th anniversary of the “March on Washington” will be released.
