Our Auntie Rosa

January 1, 2015
The woman who defied segregation when she refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955 was simply Auntie Rosa to her adoring nieces and nephews. Parks and her husband, Raymond, also an activist in resisting racism, moved from Alabama to Detroit in 1957 to escape growing threats of violence in the South. They lived close to Parks' beloved brother, Sylvester McCauley, whose 13 children would become surrogate children to the Parkses. In this loving tribute, the McCauley siblings offer an intimate portrait of a woman of quiet strength and dignity. Parks was visited and celebrated by a variety of public figures, including Mamie Till, mother of slain Emmett Till, segregationist George Wallace, Jesse Jackson, Maya Angelou, Nelson Mandela, and others, but she always maintained great humility while encouraging her nieces and nephews to stand up for justice and equality. Parks was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996. Keys, actively involved in preserving the legacy of her aunt, shares stories and remembrances of Parks, along with photographs, recipes, and other memorabilia of the life of an extraordinary woman.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)