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statues of rosa park and Helen Keller, pivotal figures who fought for justice and inspired change around the world, will be unveiled Friday on the grounds of the Alabama Capitol.
Monuments honoring two famous Native Alabamians — one who fought against racial segregation and one who fought for the rights of people with disabilities — will be the first statues of women on the lawn of the Alabama Capitol. These additions will reflect the state’s broader history as they are added to the grounds, which also include several tributes ConfederacyWhich was formed on the site in 1861.
While there is a statue inside the Capitol of former Governor Lurleen Wallace, the state’s first female governor who died in office in 1968, there were no monuments to famous women on the Capitol grounds.
Representative Laura Hall, who sponsored the 2019 legislation authorizing the monuments, said it is important that visitors to the Capitol see “the full picture, the history and the impact that women have made.”
“Helen Keller and Rosa Parks seemed exactly the same image – whether you Black or white, democrat or republican – You can recognize and feel their impact on history,” Hall said.
Parks, known as the mother of the modern civil rights movement, was arrested on December 1, 1955 after she refused to give up her bus seat for a white passenger. His action ignited a year-long boycott of the segregated city bus system by black passengers and helped launch the Civil Rights Movement.
Keller was born on June 27, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama. She became deaf and blind after a serious illness shortly before her second birthday. With the help of tutor Anne Sullivan, Keller learned to communicate through sign language and Braille. Keller became a renowned author and lecturer. He advocated for the rights of workers, the poor, women, and people with disabilities around the world.
The statue of Parks is located near the steps of the Alabama Capitol facing Dexter Avenue, the street where Parks boarded the bus and made history in 1955. This statue honoring the civil rights icon is located across from the statue of the Confederate President. jefferson davis,
The statue of Keller is located in front of the Alabama Statehouse.
The statue unveiled on Friday took more than six years to complete.
Alabama lawmakers approved Hall’s legislation in 2019 to place monuments to Parks and Keller on the grounds of the state Capitol. The Alabama Women’s Tribute Statue Commission has been quietly working, commissioning statues and finalizing displays.