december 1st, 1955, her brave act of that quiet, deliberate, defiant, no in the face of the unfair and unjust practice of jim crow segregation sparked what would become the montgomery bus boycott and the civil rights. as we commemorate courage of mrs. parks and so many other men and women of the movement, we are honored to have with us today, h.h. h h leonards sorry, author of rosa beyond the bus life lessons and leadership and zoom. dr. ladonna boyd with publisher r h. boyd. we also want to thank our moderator for today ms.. also, martin weiler with the troy university library. and we also would like to welcome our distinguished guests here in the front row. we have miss jane gunter. we have excuse ms. . kennedy and mrs. parks niece, welcome. the rosa project with us today. and so welcome all of you. and then all of you out there as well. and at this time, i'm going to give just brief bio of mrs. leonard's and dr. boyd, and then we'll get started with dr. boyd. h h leonards is the founder and chair of the oak street museum, headquartered in washington, dc and the mansion on o street, where mrs. rosa parks called her home away from home for the last decade of her life. leonard's is a wife, mother, three and friend to celebrities and everyday people alike. the purdue university alumna the mansion in 1980 to provide a unique and eclectic forum where clients learn from one another and foster the development, diversity, the creative process and the human spirit we also have with this dr. boyd as president and c h or ceo of rh boyd publishing, dr. ladonna boyd is shaping leading rh boyd's efforts, broaden its scope and offerings for modern needs with a targeted focus on product development technology. commercial, non-religious printing opportunities, and authorized sources. dr. boyd has been preparing for a number of years to take the reins. ceo cultivating a wide of skills necessary to lead rh boyd through a new generation, dr. boyd completed doctoral studies at pepperdine university, where she received the doctor of education degree in organizational leadership. she is also a graduate of spelman college, earning a bachelor's degree in economics and tennessee state university. she completed a master of business administration with content, with a concentration finance. she is committed to continue professional development, including earning a certificate in marketing strategy from howard university extension school. dr. boyd has traveled extensively around the globe, earned recognition for her community engagement and service, and she is proud, active member of alpha kappa sorority inc. . she also serves on various boards, including citizens bank, the national museum of african american music and the national ballet in the evangel christian publishers association. so welcome, dr. boyd. welcome, h h leonards, and welcome alissa martin weiler thank you all. thank you. thank you. dr. boyd i've got a few questions for you. first of all, why did decide to publish this work and well, again, get everyone certainly an honor and a privilege and a pleasure to. join you today on this occasion, this story is one that is so important. we want to make sure that we continue to tell the legacy and the story of, the courage of this part. and ironically, i mean, an interesting background right now. i'm actually at a middle school today here in nashville, volunteering and meeting with leadership. and i think it's so important to make sure that we continuously engaging young people to know that they're and their voice have true power so by mrs. parks refusing her seat and just having the courage to stand her ground you will and to know what was to make change. i think that's something that so important, so telling this story all generations alike is something that our company wanted to do and that we were able to take great pride in. thank you. can you tell us a little about the history of h r, h boy? absolutely. so r h boyd was founded in 1896 by my great great grandfather, dr. richard henry boyd. it was founded as a national baptist publishing, and historically we've provided educational resources and hymnals, bibles and all kind of products, things for traditionally black baptist churches. we have past that. so we're doing and nonfiction as well as spiritual resources, lots of children's resources. we have a line of apparel and so much so. we are five generations strong, 126 years. and that's something we, my family, takes great pride in doing and continuing that legacy and. the reason that my great great grandfather, this company, was to give a voice to the experience in the context of faith. and that's something that we still over 126 years later. thank you so much for what you and your company do. and i will tell you, there's lot of little kids in the hallway right now. so i guarantee what sounds you might hear momentarily. but they're having a good time today. thank you. now i'd like to present eight. good afternoon. i want to thank donna for inviting me here. i want to really thank, dr. boyd. mrs. parks is her soul sister. she is mrs. parks. the soul sister. this is the youngest woman in america. so it's quite. thank you so much. i also to thank peggy wallace kennedy. her father was governor wallace in alabama and still her journey from 12 years on, she's written an extraordinary book called the broken road. she gave a book signing the museum in the mansion in washington. we fell in love with each other. she lives down here. she went to troy. so it's karma that she's here with her husband. so thank you very much. she's a very close friend. and it like to introduce sitting next to her is my soul sister jane gunter. she was on mrs. parks's bus back in 1955. she was pregnant. her daughter was in her belly on the incident. and her story is quite extraordinary and. today, she's going to record some of her history at the museum. so thank you everybody. i also want to talk about the karma of c-span being here because the founder of c-span comes from my home state in indiana and has done such an extraordinary job in telling the history of america through what he has created. i have come to montgomery over 20 times with mrs. parks and also alone sometimes on her behalf. and the last time i was at this museum was for reception held after her funeral service in 2005. i have many memories being part of the museum from its concept. as mrs. parks asked me to be on her founding board of the museum to the historic, groundbreaking here to when it opened in thousand and seen today seeing the growth downtown become re is heartwarming. i am home beyond the bus life lessons and leadership is a collection of memories and. adults, incidents, vignettes and observations, many of which i recorded in a daily journal that i kept, i wrote beyond the to share the real mrs. parks with the world. she is so much more than such an icon in history who refused get up from her bus seat in 1955. she was a survivor and now is the ultimate influencer of future generations. why the title? beyond bus. did you know that mrs. parks traveled throughout the south in the 1930s, 25 years before the bus incident to document rape victims, both men and women in alabama? that was really extraordinary in 44. it was mrs. parks, who investigated the rape of 24 year old recy taylor. mrs. parks didn't stop there in documenting it. she founded the committee for equal justice, which became the catalyst for black women's civil rights resistance in the 1950s. brought people of all races into the naacp. did you know that in the sixties? she protested the vietnam war. she to malcolm x as her personal hero and, joined the black panther movement. she is credited by anna hagaman of now as being the founder now. but didn't want the press to be around her as a person so took a back seat she would never allow to recognize her involved in the founding of now you only know about it in anna's biography in 1968. she began lobbying for black reparations in 1969. she went on record showing the similarities of police harassment with in montgomery which what with what was happening in detroit with the riots in eight. her husband's her beloved husband had been destroyed not by the rioters but by the police in the 1970s. she taught recycling at her. she became a vegetarian. her list firsts goes on and on. but i have one that you might not know about. also, in 1991, she testified against justice thomas during supreme court confirmation hearing, focusing not on anita hill. but on his dismal civil rights. but although this book is about the things mrs. parks accomplished that people don't know about, this is not her story account. my book is about her heart and about her soul and the lessons of leadership i learned while mother parks lived with me when i traveled with her after learned who she was, which is about three years later. and then when she asked me to sit, on the founding board of this museum, mrs. parks, famous because she's the seminal person in the history of civil and women's rights. she died in 2005, but her is now. the lessons she taught me are lessons that can change what is happening now. i hope we will discuss in a q&a. mrs. parks used to tell me all the time and didn't understand it at the time were hiding behind the laws. if we don't attention to people that don't like we do, if we don't spend time changing hearts, the laws will roll back. that's what they're doing now. so this book is of even more importance to me because. this gives me the opportunity to go around country and do what mrs. parks did. talk love is all that matters. reaching out to people and say we can make a difference. we can change the world. i did not realize until i finished writing this book how much mrs. parks taught me and that we can become disciple. the underlying foundation of what she taught is about faith in yourself. to do the hard work, to the hearts and minds of those meet through your words, not just through your words, but by your exemplary behavior. from early childhood, mrs. parks led an example life. she sense that if did not her behavior could be used against her. and at no point in her life did she want her past to become a detriment to her fight. racism. mrs. parks assaulted throughout life, both physically and emotionally, but she never this as an excuse. stop living. nor did she allow it to defeat her spirit. she utilized the pain of her experiences, help others. she believed that there are hidden blessings in everything god gives, that being a giving person means you can become more open more giving to others less fortunate than you. and that pain and fear are illusions of choice. it's simple. she would say. when you fall down, you get up. mrs. parks, once told me, i can't. what is inside someone? that's something have to do themselves. living according this principle. she let go and forgave everyone. everything. although she didn't forget, she used the pain. she felt throughout her life as a motivator, not as a tool against people. she chose to champion constructive in our justice system. from the 1930s on, mrs. parks didn't have categories for people because she was an amalgam of all of them. her dna was white, black and native american and female. she didn't quite fit in anywhere in any group. and she this to her core. it's why she and fought for the plight of equality and freedom for others and could connect so with so many different groups. she rarely got angry. she never tried to get even, but she was an exacting task maker, ensuring all those around her never to forget what they were fighting for was about others. never for personal gain. she would never let you forget your mission of service with every fiber of her essence and reality. she believed, is all that matters. she continuously said, where there's love, equality and understanding follow. and as important, forgiveness. hope and reconciliation. mrs. parks was a humble, straightforward. during her lifetime, she many who persecuted her or took her took advantage of her or disregarded who she was. for reasons only known to themselves. yet every day she woke up. she was determined to teach love, forgiveness and compassion. at every event and private meeting she attended. she also accepted any and all to speak because believed this was one big way to rid the world of prejudice. if people met her, she would always say they would not fear her. and of course she whenever she could. she told people of every age, get an education continue, educate yourself. did you know that at the age of 87 she learned how to swim? she wanted to show people that in any age they could learn new things. but she also wanted to make a statement that as a child, she wasn't allowed go in a swimming pool, in a lake, in river. if there was any at any time, a white person. so it was a she was extraordinary through my glorious decade with mrs. parks, the humble and authentic mrs. she taught me the wisdom of letting go of. only then, she believed, can one accomplish what every person should strive to achieve. freedom and equality. a couple of weeks ago, i was speaking to a rotary group in, southern virginia, and one of the gentlemen in our q&a asked if i knew what eagles stood for, and i asked him to explain it. he said, e go stands for edging god out. mrs. parks would have loved. mrs. parks taught whenever. do whatever you do think and be concerned. only about other people. she continually taught what the bible to look at everything in of not succumbing to that which will destroy your physical and mental health. she never separated mental health from her physical health to her. they were the. when her brother and husband died within months of each other. she felt she able to take care of herself or her mother, who lived with her. so she checked herself into a nursing home. she lived in the nursing home for a year. during that time of repairing her soul and her heart, she came came up with who she wanted to be and started the rosa and raymond park institute in detroit. and she was a fierce warrior for this institution. so she took something that she had difficult dealing with, disappeared within herself, and then started taking care of other people even more than she had ever done. she did the same thing when came to live with me. she been accosted in her home in detroit. and she was of sound mind enough to the hospital to sign ndas so that she never existed in the hospital. if you go to google her that she went to the emergency room and she was left let out right away, she was so badly assaulted. her pacemaker was so when she came to live with me, she needed to disappear from the public eye. she needed to heal her soul. her heart and her body. and it was about months before she left the room that she was in. and then she started around the neighborhood with always. and then she came out like the fiercest lawyer i have ever met with a focus on soldiers with because she hadn't realized her brother had felt during war two and couldn't experience it until she learned what ptsd was. and she traveled globally talking to people, whatever she could. it was really quite extraordinary to see this petite, frail, 80 plate, 80 year old woman out, had more energy. i did. it was amazing. i spent countless hours with mrs. parks listening to her, watching her and hearing stories from her and her inner of colleagues and friends stayed with me. she was adamant that associates and with people of any group that others was discriminatory. mrs. parks not see color, although she was not colorblind. she told me over and, over again, every night. forgive everyone, everything. but as important in the morning. forgive yourself. she understood that it's important to be proud. your heritage and yes, sela break your color. but that no one should be judged by their color. she wrote in her dear mrs. parks, which is compilation compilation of the thousands of letters she got from children all over the world. and then her answers and i'm quoting her justice and truth do not see color. mrs. parks was all about truth and justice. not just to make the laws equitable, but to teach people who met her that they had to approach this concept with love, their heart, not fear. she was proud of her dna, but deeply affected discrimination all her life, not just from white people, but black people, native and yes, women. she had to balance the ugly also had to balance the ugly truth that her was the result of her ancestors having been raped. but instead of complaining or ever going bitter, mrs. parks chose to use the violence that produced her and happen to her family and the continual discrimination against her to fight for human dig of the dignity, all races, creeds and religions. mrs. parks wrote and spoke again and again, i believe there is only one race. the human race. she went deeper in her book. dear mrs. writing the younger must learn from us that love knows no color. they must learn from that respect. knows no color. they must that we are all created by the same god who created all of us in his image. mrs. parks believed that no progress could be made until no one saw color or grouped people by age or separated by religion or gender affiliation, and stopped judging others by the hierarchy of their employment. one sunday afternoon we were enjoying tea cookies after church and parks read to me what she had been writing. her voice was gentle, but her message seared soul. the important thing to remember is that when people try to hurt us or do mean things to us god is with us. god gives us the strength to overcome whatever is bad in life. and he gives us the ability to make it better. there are moments for each every one of us. having parks read this to me was one of my defining. i still get chills. i realized as parks was gently teaching me, that no matter what happens to it's supposed to occur at that particular moment to teach you to help you let go of your ego and think only about. you can be quiet, but in your quest you must believe you can move mountains. thank you. you make a sort of a lot of them. but you mentioned in the book, you didn't know who rosa parks was when you met her. can you tell me a little bit about that? it was became one of my most embarrassing moments about three years after she was living with me. someone pointed her out and, said, h, do you know who that is? and i said, yes, it's mrs. rosa parks. and they said, well, i know you h. do you know what she did? and i said, i have no idea. and when they told me i was familiar hated, it was i had been the second dumbest student in my high school class. gumby was the center of the football team high school. and he was the dumbest. but i had a bigger head than he did. which thank you. so that was cool. my graduating hat was, bigger than gumby. but it made feel even. it made me feel horrible. and that was uneducated. so i finally got the courage to go. to mrs. parks, to apologize. and she basically said, oh, dear, i'm so happy that you now know who i am. you can travel with me, but i'm so happy you didn't know who i was because we bonded from heart. you didn't know my. you knew who i was. so she made me feel better. but for years, until i started writing the book, i still felt dumb and embarrassed by it. so even though she told me i shouldn't be bothered, i was. and then in writing the book, i realized i didn't have any education. i didn't hear about civil rights in school. so how was i to know? and that's thing about she kept on talking. we need to be educated. we need to tell these stories. we need the youth of america. and thank you, dr. boy, being with the middle school, because it's so important that they have pride in history and that we know history. because if you don't know history, you can't change it. you mentioned you feel like that is as rosa parks a coauthor with you on this book. and out of all the lessons she taught you, what do you think is the most important? she she taught me so many things. i think seize the moment and understand that i use this as an example. we were going to meet pope in st louis and. we were on a plane and i was holding their hand and that was one of my most favorite things to do. this woman was so powerful and such a muse, she could hold her hand and. you knew what she was feeling. you knew what she was thinking. so we're on the plane and we're holding hands. and she turns to me and says, i, your help. i need you to help me write a note to the pope. want to write it in my own handwriting? so it needs to be short and. could tell what she was feeling. so it was easy for me to write it. and there was one word that she didn't like i had written, which i called the pope a great leader. and she said, no, you don't understand. he's not a great leader. and i went, whoa, how can he not be? and she said, every human being is great. there is not one person that's greater than. and then she took time. and about 3 minutes later, she said he's a moral. that which was. extraordinary because she got it exactly right. but after we finished writing this, told her that i was just excited to meet the pope, that i here was i was catholic. this was extraordinary. and had 20 crosses in my pocket for him to bless. and she turned to me and she didn't make me feel stupid. we were still holding hands. and she said, you have to understand that god brought us here for a purpose. we to seize the moment. this is so important. and when we met the. she asked him to speak about racism. the next the two of them held a press conference. and the rest of the life, if you look and you google him, you'll see him talking about racism globally. so that meeting was supposed to happen. it was extraordinary. and i don't think i'll ever forget the moment. that was a huge lesson. but also what was really interesting is that and i talked a little bit about. were words are one thing, but it's the actions. people that are so much deeper and so much more significant when we got to saint louis. mrs. parks was in a wheelchair. she was very tired from the journey. and we probably should have gone the night before. but we went the morning that we were supposed to meet the pope. and she asked me what the protocol was. and i check that out. and we were told, stay the room we were in, which was a ornate hall. and to meet the pope. but not to get up and go to him. we were to stand where we were positioned and the doors opened and we were sure the pope was coming in. but every bishop and cardinal came walking in one by one. and the first bishop got down on my knees approximately where mrs. kennedy is sitting, mrs. gunther is sitting. and my husband ted is sitting, and he called up to mrs. parks, who was seated in a wheelchair and kissed foot. and i lusted and i still feel moment that said it all with that gesture. so by the time the bishops and cardinals got to the pope was almost anti-climatic, but they cleared the room out of still sitting at the end of this big hall and then the doors open and the pope comes out with his white hat and his heavy robes and his staff, and he can barely walk. he is in so much pain. and parks sees that or feels that. and she asks me to get up out of her wheelchair, to walk to him and course, mrs. parks asked me to do anything. i did it. and i helped her. and at that time, all my crosses fell on the ground. and you hurt? it was embarrassing, but we continued to walk and the pope was so appreciative of mrs. parks going to meet him. he didn't have to walk to her that he listened even deeper than i think he would have if we had waited. and the protocol. and then he read out loud what she what she wrote. he took the book that she put it in, which quiet strength. and mrs. parks it's an amazing book and. i think that's what made the and why her message was so deep inside of him and. she seized the moment but she also had so much empathy that she was in pain. but she went to him. so one more question and then before you do it, before you go any further. dr. boyd has to leave us so we are going to say thank you again for joining us, dr. boyd. sorry you can't spend more time with us, but thank you for the work you're doing and i just encourage you to keep at it and thank you again. any last words you want to give? yeah, i just want to say thank you again for for the opportunity to share with you today and you for all that you've done for sharing your story. it's certainly something that is impactful and it will certainly leave your own. and that time that you, mrs.. this part is so valuable and i'm glad that you had the strength and the courage tell this story. i can say on for another minute or so, i don't know if anyone any questions directed to me. i want to take the opportunity to answer those necessary. does anyone have any questions for dr. boyd before we continue with ms.. leonard? i have one quick question, if that's okay. what would your one piece of advice be for anybody, really, but especially young people, and especially young girls who are looking to get into maybe publishing or any other kind of business, but they really don't see themselves represented and mentioned that you are where a very small group of especially black women abolitionist. and so just what piece of advice would give. okay. well, certainly, you know, in this industry, it's not very diverse so it's easy to not find someone that looks like you, if you will. but there are some, i would say certainly in turn figure out, you know, is very broad and falls media. so what you think of publishing like what kind of stories you want to tell. for us we do mostly pieces, faith based content. so if you are looking for something like that, know certainly reach out to us. we can point you in the right direction. but there's so many different genres that are represented. so the best opportunity, internships and just finding your own style as well. what is your preferred writing style? how do you express yourself and find an organization that aligns with that? all right. thank you. and thank you again for joining us. and now we're going to turn it back over to you. take care and have a great day. thank you. okay, i've got one final question for dr.. i mean, this point was eight. if rosa parks were sitting here today, what she want you to say about her, ah, what final remarks do you have before we open it up for questions? i think that. it's so important that each of you here go out and talk to other people, people that don't necessarily believe the way you do to change people's hearts. it's as important now as was in the 1930s and 1950s and 1960s. but especially now. because of what is happening currently. so love is all that, i think is what she would say believe that and you can make a difference and you look at my past without any money. you look at mrs. parks and what she was able to do without any money. you do not need money to. start a movement to part of a movement and to a movement. you just have to be passionate and believe who you want to become. q does anyone any questions? i'm coming the mic. hold on. wonder. thank you. thank you so very much for your presentation. it was outstanding. i'm a tour guide in honor of legendary tours here in montgomery. so i'm always engaging with people around the world. one of the things i wanted to you in those latter years of parks life, it is said the owner of little caesars pizza looked after her or paid for her. do you have any information in that regard? i do. i think little caesars, to my knowledge and i did check this with the rose and raymond parks institute and need a peek in a elaine deal in detroit. i think that he did donate. $500 year. it comes out that more was given to her and what he did, it allows the pizza company to continue in business and that helps. so she would say, why not? you know, it's it's it's just things happen in life and that's. any other questions? that was a good one, though. do we have any questions on the zoom? okay. i've got one more question. okay what happened to mrs. rosa parks house? you said it was in disrepair near the end of path. i'm hoping that someone that's listening will help fund the recreation. the home where she was assaulted in. it's very emotional for, me, to go in that home and see the stairs. everything happened and she's got a lot of papers there that. historical papers that need to be cultivated and. someone out there, i know that mr. preserved her papers for the library of congress, which is so important. it was such a blessing that he did that. and he also to the library of congress, enough money that the curatorial staff could go, through all the papers, mrs. parks was humble woman and she probably didn't think that she deserved to be at the library of congress. it really says a lot about her, but it's so good that she's there and all of you that might have written her letters when you were young. you can go to the library of congress, see them, because she preserved every of paper. she never threw anything out when she wore a dress she documented where she wore it, what date it was. she was a historian. she understood the importance of history, and she had beautiful penmanship. the curator is at the library of congress. really could easily do what they needed to do because a penmanship was so neat. any other questions. jane, did you want to say anything? i just i'm just happy to hear everything that i'm and. it blesses me to hear you share with strangers and that, you know, the that you know personally. because the things i know personal are so important and so good and when she does write a letter, she does from her heart. i it's it's not like any letter you see today. so, yes. so jane got so many letters. the two of them corresponded for years. and it's quite an extraordinary and loving story. and she turned 83 yesterday, was in a car was her birthday gift. but her family her here from atlanta, which is really i'm so honored. thank you. all right. do you have a question? yeah. well, if there are no other questions, then we are going to wrap this up. h will be signing copies of the book. so if you don't have that, we have copies for everyone in our exhibit hall is just left, right out of the auditorium here. and then that first left there. and thank you all again for coming and enjoy the rest of your day. thank you. thank you, everybody. i really all right. so today are going to talk about as you see, the intersection of topics of sex and politics in early american republic. so think it'll be a good follow up to a lot of what we've been discussing already and kind of get us ready to transition to to