Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Rosa Parks' Personal items to Be Auctioned

Guernsey's of New York City has been asked to auction off thousands of Rosa Parks' personal items by a Detroit probate judge. She left practically all of her estate to the Detroit based Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Seld Development, but her 13 nephews and nieces have been feuding over them ever since her death. An undisclosed deal has been reached with them, and part of it is this sell-off. Too bad they have so little respect for their aunt.

Arlan Ettinger, head of the auction house estimates the collection to be worth $10 million. Hopefully, a museum, university, or some other institution will buy it so it is not broken up.

Included in it are items such as: the Presidential Medal of Freedom presented by President Clinton, the dress she wore to the ceremony, a tattered schoolbook, "How to Speak and Write Correctly," a letter she wrote about King's house being bombed while she and he were at a meeting a month after the boycott began, and the hat she wore the day she refused to give up her seat.

July 3rd Chicago Tribune.

Now, That's Some History. --Cooter

No comments: