DEARBORN (WWJ) -- The Henry Ford is commemorating an important moment in Civil Rights history.
Dec. 1 is the 70th anniversary of Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus to a white man, leading to her arrest and the start of the Montgomery bus boycott.
The museum is the permanent home of the bus. It has been incorporated into a larger exhibition highlighting defining moments of United States history. “With Liberty and Justice for All” features an engraved copy of the Declaration of Independence, the chair Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in and a banner from the Suffrage Movement.
Parks moved to Detroit in 1957, remaining in the city until her death in 2005. She was buried in Detroit’s Woodlawn Cemetery. She remained active in the Civil Rights Movement after her move to Detroit, working with former U.S. Representative John Conyers.
The Henry Ford has also acquired a historic home connected to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The home, known as the Jackson Home, was used by Civil Rights activists, including King, to plan the 1965 marches from Selma to Montgomery. The exhibit is set to open the week of June 9, 2026.
Free admission to Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation is from 9:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. The museum will also have free admission on Martin Luther King Day.