Film, Video Rosa Parks Collection: Telling Her Story at the Library of Congress

Transcript: TEXT

About this Item

Title
Rosa Parks Collection: Telling Her Story at the Library of Congress
Summary
Highlights of the collection of Rosa Parks, a seminal figure of the Civil Rights Movement, on loan to the Library from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation for 10 years. The collection is now available online.

Howard Buffett decided to purchase this special collection in 2014, when he learned that it was languishing in an auction warehouse. He wanted to bring these rare items into public view and ensure their preservation. The Rosa Parks Collection reveals how deeply she believed in a moral imperative to oppose discrimination and the denial of individual rights. That belief most famously resulted in her decision to challenge the bus segregation laws in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. But her autobiographical writings reveal numerous times in her life when that conviction motivated her to act.

The collection documents many aspects of her private life as well as her public work on behalf of civil rights for African Americans. While the 7,500 manuscripts and 2,500 photographs span 140 years, the content focuses on the 1950s through the 1990s and includes Mrs. Parks' own writings, letters from presidents, her Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom, and hand-drawn cards of appreciation from scores of schoolchildren.

This video contains highlights from the collection and a look behind the scenes at how the Library's team of experts in cataloging, preservation, digitization, exhibition and teacher training are making the legacy of Rosa Parks available to the world.

Event Date
February 04, 2016
Related Resources
'The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom' exhibition: https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/civil-rights-act/
Rosa Parks Collection Finding Aid: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms014094
News Release: 'Rosa Parks Collection Opens to Researchers': https://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2015/15-020.html
Rosa Parks Papers at the Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/collections/rosa-parks-papers/about-this-collection/
Running Time
33 minutes 20 seconds
Online Format
video

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Credit Line: Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Rosa Parks Collection: Telling Her Story at the Library of Congress. 2016. Video. https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-7081/.

APA citation style:

(2016) Rosa Parks Collection: Telling Her Story at the Library of Congress. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-7081/.

MLA citation style:

Rosa Parks Collection: Telling Her Story at the Library of Congress. 2016. Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/webcast-7081/>.

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