Just in time for Valentine’s Day, eco-lifestyle retailer OrganicStyle.com introduces
Freedom® – A Rose in Honor of Rosa Parks.
Universally revered as the Mother of the modern day Civil Rights Movement, this new rose pays tribute to Rosa Parks’ birthday on February 4th and features lush, vibrant red, large-headed, long-stemmed, long lasting roses with minimal thorns in one or two-dozen bouquet options.
On December 1, 1955, 42-year-old Rosa Parks boarded a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama and ultimately changed a nation. When a few stops later, a white man boarded the crowded bus and had to stand in the aisle, the driver demanded that she give up her seat for the man, but Parks remained seated. The driver called the police, who arrested Mrs. Parks, but her courageous act initiated a citywide bus boycott led by Martin Luther King, Jr. that lasted 381 days.
On February 1, 1956, the Montgomery Improvement Association filed suit in the U.S. District Court, challenging the constitutionality of segregated public transportation. In June of 1956, the U.S. District Court ruled in favor of the Improvement Association. When the city appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, the higher court affirmed the lower court’s ruling, declaring segregation on buses unconstitutional. The decision was implemented on December 20, 1956. With her quiet strength, Rosa Parks gave birth to the modern day civil rights movement.
We will honor her memory through February 20, 2008 with our special 10% contribution offer, matched by another 10% from Organic Style for a total of 20%. We hope you will keep her in your thoughts as well by purchasing these lush, vibrant red roses through our site now and throughout the year to support The Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development.
The Rosa and Raymond Institute for Self Development was founded by Rosa Parks in 1987, in honor of her husband, with the aim of motivating and directing youth to reach their highest potential through multicultural, hands-on experiences that build practical day-to-day living skills while nurturing a global and inclusive perspective. Based on Mrs. Parks’ philosophy of ‘Quiet Strength’, The Institute’s core program ‘Pathways to Freedom’ traces the Underground Railroad into the civil rights movement and beyond. Students, traveling primarily by bus, experience a unique, empowering and interactive research journey that brings the history of the civil rights movement to life, giving the participants the needed skills to model Mrs. Parks’ work for human rights in all areas.
