Activities Celebrate Rosa Parks Day

CENTRAL OHIO -- Here in Columbus and across the Buckeye state, Ohioans are celebrating a civil rights leader Monday. Dec. 1 is Rosa Parks Day.

Ohio House Democratic Leader Joyce Beatty, COTA and the Ohio Historical Society will host "The Power of One," a statewide tribute at the Ohio Historical Center and Ohio Village.

The special day celebrates the contributions of the woman recognized as the "mother of the modern Civil Rights Movement." Activities will commemorate Parks' bravery in standing up for her rights on a bus in Montgomery, Ala., and the subsequent events that changed the course of history.

Elementary school children from across Ohio participated in the statewide celebration at an 11 a.m. assembly featuring a keynote speech from civil rights pioneer Rev. Robert Graetz.

NBC 4's Tom Brockman reported from the morning ceremony.

Graetz, who served as pastor of a black congregation in Montgomery at the time, was one of the few white community leaders in Montgomery who supported Parks' actions and the bus boycott that followed.

He joined Parks and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to spread the message of equality and civil rights across America.

Graetz will be the special guest at a community conversation about his experiences, moderated by Beatty, Monday at 6 p.m. The event will be free and open to the public.

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