Ill win. Well, good afternoon. Thank you all for your patience. As weve been trying to get some of these kinks worked out. Um, welcome to the rosa parks. My name is donna beisel. I am the interim director of the museum and we are honored to have all of you here today as we the 67th anniversary of mrs. Parks arrest on the evening of 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, im going to give just brief bio of mrs. Leonards and dr. Boyd, and then well 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. Leonards 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 boyds efforts, broaden its scope and offerings for modern needs with a targeted focus on Product Development technology. Commercial, nonreligious 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 bachelors 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 ive 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. Im actually at a middle school today here in nashville, volunteering and meeting with leadership. And i think its so important to make sure that we continuously engaging young people to know that theyre 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 thats 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 weve provided Educational Resources and hymnals, bibles and all kind of products, things for traditionally black baptist churches. We have past that. So were doing and nonfiction as well as spiritual resources, lots of childrens resources. We have a line of apparel and so much so. We are five generations strong, 126 years. And thats 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 thats something that we still over 126 years later. Thank you so much for what you and your company do. And i will tell you, theres lot of little kids in the hallway right now. So i guarantee what sounds you might hear momentarily. But theyre having a good time today. Thank you. Now id 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 its 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, shes 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 its karma that shes here with her husband. So thank you very much. Shes a very close friend. And it like to introduce sitting next to her is my soul sister jane gunter. She was on mrs. Parkss bus back in 1955. She was pregnant. Her daughter was in her belly on the incident. And her story is quite extraordinary and. Today, shes going to record some of her history at the museum. So thank you everybody. I also want to talk about the karma of cspan being here because the founder of cspan 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 didnt stop there in documenting it. She founded the committee for equal justice, which became the catalyst for black womens 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 didnt 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 annas 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 husbands 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 dont 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 shes the seminal person in the history of civil and womens 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 didnt understand it at the time were hiding behind the laws. If we dont attention to people that dont like we do, if we dont spend time changing hearts, the laws will roll back. Thats what theyre 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. Its simple. She would say. When you fall down, you get up. Mrs. Parks, once told me, i cant. What is inside someone . Thats something have to do themselves. Living according this principle. She let go and forgave everyone. Everything. Although she didnt 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 didnt have categories for people because she was an amalgam of all of them. Her dna was white, black and native american and female. She didnt quite fit in anywhere in any group. And she this to her core. Its 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 theres 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 wasnt 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 hadnt realized her brother had felt during war two and couldnt 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 its 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 im 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 its 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