Pioneers talks about rosa parks and her long history of civil rights activism. Iny highlight her influence igniting boycotts and nonviolent protests. This event was held to celebrate the opening of the new exhibit please welcome the librarian of congress, doc your dr. Carla hayden. Good evening. Good evening. And welcome to the library of congress. Have our pleasure to everyone here for a very special night as we open the librarys newest exhibition, rosa parks in her own words. It is my honor to welcome members of congress, including members of the congressional black caucus, members of the rosa parks family who have come to washington for this special celebration. Can we give them a hand . [laughter] [applause] we would also like to welcome the rosa and Raymond Parks institute for selfdevelopment, led by miss elaine steel. That is another round of applause. [applause] carla and photographer donna, whose photo of miss parks is prominently displayed in a vital part of the exhibition. Of all the leaders and staff the different cultural institutions across washington including secretary of the smithsonian dr. Lonnie bunch [applause] and the archivist of the united states, mr. David. Library guests and staff, and our viewers online, this is being livestreamed right now, and i have to tell you, we are radiating with joy and pride tonight because it is our pleasure to open this beautiful and compelling new exhibition about one of our countrys most icons, rosal rights parks. The collection resonates strongly with me. After i was sworn in as the 14th librarian of congress in 2016, the very first collection i was able to see was the rosa parks papers. And Library Manuscript specialist adrian cannon, who was a descendent of carter g woodson, father of black history, showed me the collection, and she carefully presented to me the different photographs and letters and private notes handwritten by misses rosa parks, and adrian is here tonight and is the proud curator of the exhibition. [applause] from the first moment i saw her family bible followed by all of her personal letters and writings, i felt the overwhelming power of the collection. Letter she wrote after the arrest, i had been pushed around all my life and felt at this moment that i could not take it anymore. I knew then when i read those words that we had to share these papers with the public for much broader viewers, and in this wonderful exhibit, through her own words, the rosa parks you will discover was not always writing for publication or posterity. She was writing in a moment and for herself. This is not the rosa parks we all met in textbooks or Public Service announcements. Complex, the very very human, and the very real rosa parks. Her powerful story and her long fight for justice have always resonated with me, and as the first woman and the first africanamerican to serve as the librarian of congress, i take special pleasure in having the rosa parks collection housed here. [applause] here in thed Worlds Largest library, sidebyside with the papers of frederick douglass, abraham lincoln, mary church terrel, and thurgood marshall. Rosa parks lived a life dedicated to equal rights and social justice, and she helped change the country with examples she said. As a statue of rosa parks stands with pride in the capitol rotunda, in this exhibition, you will see her standing tall, quite literally, as her photos, images of her papers and video tower more than 12 feet above you. None of this would have been possible without the generosity of the Howard G Buffett foundation who made the rosa parks collection a gift to the nation. Jesse started when holland, a journalist at the time, learned that the collection was stored away in boxes in a warehouse. He wrote a story about it and his story was read and seen by mr. Howard buffett, who bought the papers and gave them to the library, so that they could be preserved, scanned, and seen by everyone. Jesse is now a scholar to resident in the library of congresss john w center. That deserves a hand. [applause] a collection comprises 10,000 islands drawn from both miss Parks Private life and her decades of work for civil rights and includes photos and correspondence, handwritten reflections, private notes during the montgomery bus boycott, and the struggles she endured after. Director, mr. David mandel, and his team, have curated a beautiful gallery that would tell miss parks story in her own words and photographs, then honor to open exhibition tomorrow to the general public on december 5, the 64th anniversary of the montgomery bus boycott. And as part of the opening, we are releasing this companion book, rosa parks in her own the libraryten by and including many of the photographs and documents you will see in the exhibition, and we are delighted to be joined by the people from the university of georgia press, who work with the librarys Publishing Office to create this elegant companion piece. And we also are starting something new with this exhibition at the library of congress for the first time. We are launching an ask a librarian mobile research station within the exhibition and visitors will have the opportunity to write an exhibit, delve deeply with online research, resources related to this is parks life, through life through direction with the librarian. I have to acknowledge the generous donors who made this exhibition possible. Theford foundation, Katherine V Reynolds foundation, with Additional Support [applause] support from aarp history, joyce and thomas, who are also here [applause] carla and the capital group. We cannot thank you enough for your generosity and for your support at this exhibit. [applause] curator, adrian cannon, explained to me the storyteller of this exhibition is rosa parks. Voiceher words and her that will be echoing through the gallery as you walk around the display. It is the full story of rosa parks. The lifelong activist and the woman behind the civil rights icon. [applause] [applause] and now, we are going to find out which of these ladies really is the incredible rosa parks. Will the real reason parks rosa parks please stand up . [applause] rosa parks is often taught as a sort of meek seamstress who one day sort of accidentally stumbles into history and refuses to give up her seat on the bus, launching the modern Civil Rights Movement, and that version, taught in schools and often celebrated nationally, very much distorts and limits who rosa parks actually was. Her activism starts to decades in 1955 and will continue for four decades after. As far as i can remember, during my lifetime, i resisted the idea of being mistreated and pushed because of my race and i felt that all people should be free regardless of their color. Was about 10,en i i met a little white way named franklin on the road. He was about my size, may be larger. He said something to me and he threatened to hit me. He rolled up his fists. I picked up a break and dared him to hit me. He thought better of the idea and went away. That, at 10, she knew the deep injustice of things. That gothe case through the most is the case about a 16yearold by the name of jeremiah reese. He was a high school student, jazz drummer, and delivered groceries, and its rated having a relationship with a young white woman that got found out. She cried rape. She put him in the electric chair and told him if he did not confess, he would be electrocuted on the spot so he gave his confession. She began writing letters and trying to organize around blocking that execution, got dr. King involves, and it did not succeed, and he was executed, and she would tell me how devastating that was and how it wrote her heart. This is a rosa parks letter from 1956. I cried bitterly that i would be lynched rather than run over by them. They could get the rope ready for me at anytime they wanted to do their lynching. While my neck was spared and my body was never riddled by bullets or derived by an auto, i felt that i was lynched many times in mind and spirit. She was a believer that you had to dissent, that you had to voice your objections, even if you could not see that that would do any good. Rosa parks, like my mom, has her own definition of who she is, and she does not let anybody change that definition. A better worldr of tomorrow by giving all the love, care, and guidance to our children of today. As a child, when you read people, irtant thought that these were physical spoke apeople who language that was different from the language that i spoke, and i found that those were regular people, and so, i have always felt that, you know, a person does not have to be out of this world to accomplish something as extraordinary as that. Have courage, determination, to go on with the task of becoming free, not only for ourselves, but for the nation and the world, cooperate with each other, have faith in god, and in ourselves. And i just think we underestimate the kind of courage it took to stand up to these forces that had silenced and marginalized black people from the very day we came to this continent, and yet she was taking them on. I think it was really an amazing part of her legacy was the courage, the strength, the bravery that defined her as a human being. I think when we are involved in excavating American History in coming to terms with our real history, i think too often, we find that most history is a sanitized madison avenue version of it, but she is a lifelong activist and she represents the combat of strategies to the persistent racism in the united states. I think it is important that we liberate rosa parks and ourselves from the tyranny of the superficial history. And danger, the dark closet of my mind, so much to remember. And yes, it is somewhere in the dark closet of my mind, to. It cannot help it be in the dark closet of your mind. You should never forget. There is so much to remember. But i also know that this exhibit will show that rosa parks made a difference in moving us forward. And move forward we must, even as we remember the past. We have to look to a brighter future. [applause] please welcome the honorable john lewis, representative from georgia. [applause] john good evening. Good evening. John you are a beautiful group. You look good. [laughter] let me say to the librarian of congress, thank you. I may shed some tears. For opening this place , to have this exhibit in honor of a savior of our country. Of our democracy. I dont know where i would be. I dont know where our nation would be. I dont know where we would be as a people. , shewoman, by sitting down encouraged so many others to stand up. Assisting many of us, and never looked back, and we will continue to look forward. Freddie gray would tell you, my attorney, you were that for many of us. Unbelievablead number of clients. People just came. We need your help. Rural alabama about 50 miles from montgomery. 48 to 50 miles from montgomery. My father had been a sharecropper. In 1944, when i was four years old, and i remember when i was four, my father had saved 300, and a man sold him 110 acres of land. We still owned that land today. [applause] people lived in fear. Saying whitegns only, colored only, white boys, colored boys, white girls, colored girls. Growing up, i was told by my mother, my father, my grandparents, and my great grandparents, dont get in trouble. Inspired us to get in trouble. And i have been getting in trouble ever since. [applause] if you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have an obligation to do something. I met rosa parks. My staff had a statement. I cannot stay with it. I have been moved by the spirit. Knowng up there, i dont what would have happened to so many people. Too, getting in good trouble, necessary trouble. I followed your leadership. I followed the words. We have a subscription to the local newspaper, but my grandfather had one. When he was finished reading his newspaper, he would pass it on to us to read, so i read about you. Rosa parks. Myself, if theo people in montgomery can organize can stand up, we can stand up and organize. There was a Little College eight or 10 hours from our home called troy state. So i got a chance to get an application and apply it to go to the school. I never heard a word from the school so i wrote a word to Martin Luther king jr. And told him i needed his help. Because i have been inspired by rosa parks. Dr. King wrote me back and sent me a bus ticket and invited me to come to montgomery to meet with him. I cannot forget it. Gray is still the same way, so young. [laughter] greyhoundme at the bus station and drove me to the First Baptist church and ushered. E in to the church i saw Martin Luther king jr. And abernathy standing behind the said are you king the boy from troy . Are you john lewis . And i said, dr. King, i am john robert lewis. I gave him my whole name. He still called me the boy from troy. And over the years, i had an opportunity to meet rosa parks and to talk with her. She was so wonderful, so kind, and she kept saying to each one of us, you too can do something. Participated us to wayhe sit ins, to study the of peace, the way of love, to study the philosophy and discipline. Again, i want to thank you. I want to thank you for what you are doing to help educate , to be bold,ation to be courageous, and for people to see something. It is not right, not fair, not just. Do something. We cannot afford to be quiet. Time where we must our democracy. Save our planet. We must do what rosa parks did. When there comes a time to sit in, sit down, do it. There comes a time to speak up. Speak up and speak out. Come a time to get in the way or to get in good trouble, necessary trouble, do it. Be brave. Be bold. Be courageous. Parks believed as i believed. We have a right to know what is in the food we eat. We have a right to know what is in the water we drink, what is. N the air we breathe mustach one of us today find ways to tell the story of rosa parks. One brave woman. The help of hundreds and thousands have changed america forever. To use the way of peace, the way of love. To follow the teachings of kingi and Martin Luther junior. To make our country better, and to help save our little planet. So thank you very much for being here tonight. And again, let me think the library of congress. Thank you. [applause] carla thank you, congressman lewis. Are a living icon, and we owe so much to you. Thank you for being here and thank you, thank you, thank you. And now, we have more special guests joining us for an extraordinary discussion on the life and legacy of rosa parks. By attorney fred gray, who made history by representing miss parks after her arrest in montgomery. And she offered her seat to miss parks on the day of the bus on december 1, 1955, and they will be joined by cbs news correspondent and the anchor of the saturday edition of cbs this morning, miss michelle miller, who will be moderating a discussion. Please welcome attorney fred gray, jane dunker, and michelle miller. [applause] honored and privileged to be here. Thank you. Rian, thank you all for being here. Thank you. , when your, mr. Gray see this exhibit, when you see , it shatters the parks as ansa accidental activist. Finally, that myth of an accidental activist will go by the way. The history, in her own words,. Ill be spoken the woman the two of you knew will be known, and part of the reckoning, i find, with what we see upstairs is this funny, feisty, incredibly savvy american. You knew her long before 1954. I want you to describe the first moment you met her. Maam. Thank you, sir. Before i answer that question, thank you to the library and for inviting me to share this occasion here. Carol, here. , some other relatives. If you just raise your hand. Those who are here. And also the president of the national bar association. I just want to thank those persons who have come. I want to think congressman lewis. He wanted me to end up filing a lawsuit so he could go to weretate, but his parents afraid. He was a minor. We introduced him to dr. Team and it dr. King and it introduced him to the movement and the rest of this history. Now, what was your question . Back to rosa parks. Back to that day that you met her . How would you describe parks notd met rosa just december 1, 1955, but i really at first met her when i was a student at what was then Alabama State college for knee grows. Alabama state university. I lived on the west side of town. Alabama state was on the east side of town. I was a student trying to learn how to be a teacher. I had already learned a Little Something about her to be a preacher, and that was the biggest thing that black boys in thegomery, alabama, in 1930s, 19 40s, and 1950s could be. I found out she worked with the naacp. ,he also worked with edie nixon a family friend of ours, who was mr. Civil rights. They were very much interested in doing whatever it took so that africanamericans would be able to enjoy the same rights and privileges of others. It was because of problems we had over buses, including a man who was killed as a result of an altercation on the bus, that i decided that in addition to being a preacher and being a teacher, i was going to be a lawyer. They tell me that lawyers help people. The blackght that people in montgomery had a real problem with buses. So i made a personal commitment when i was a teenager. I was going to finish college, go to somebodys law school, become a lawyer, but in order to do that at the university of alabama, go someplace else, come back, take the bar exam, and destroy everything segregated i could find. While i was thinking about doing doingi saw her working, what i wanted to do, and that was my first beginning. Move forward to three or four years later. In 19, i enrolled in the law school in cleveland. I finished in three years, took the bar exam just in case. A month later, i took the alabama bar exam. On september 7, 1954, i became licensed to practice. Now, i am ready to destroy everything segregated i could find. [laughter] [applause] fred in one of the things that misses parks was doing, she was youth director, and one of the young ladies who was in her youth director course at the claudette. She was a 15yearold girl who did what rosa parks did but did it nine months before without the instructions and without all of the experiences you learned about that misses parks had already gone through. , she came inrks and helped me to get it open. At a Department Store a block and a half from our office and we talked about these matters. Arrested, that was my first civil rights case. She was interested. Edie nixon was interested and fred gray was interested. Black community was not quite ready for the lawsuit i was ready to file. Rosae decided, including parks, that