Calif. college to unveil Rosa Parks memorial
By CC Times, Published February 5, 2010

San Diego Mesa College (SDMC) in California this month plans to unveil a transit center at a new gateway entrance to the college in honor of the late civil rights activist Rosa Parks, who had a special relationship with SDMC.

The Rosa Parks Memorial Project, which is slated to be unveiled Feb. 25, will celebrate the legacy of Parks—who would have turned 96 this week—and especially the “Quiet Strength” that all people have within them to take a stand against repression and injustice, according to the college. 

The augmented bus shelter will feature panels displaying the history and images of Parks. Adjacent to the transit center will be a “Quiet Strength” reflection area.

Parks first visited the college in 1992, and later that year named SDMC as the San Diego-Mexico branch of the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development. Parks continued to visit the college through 1995.

“Mrs. Parks was not only an iconic figure of the civil rights movement, she was a warm and caring presence to many people,” said Constance Carroll, chancellor of the San Diego Community College District and a former SDMC president. “Our students and faculty looked forward to her visits to Mesa College, and all of us were inspired by her combination of humility and courage.”

Parks died in 2005 at the age of 92.

Total cost of the project is $150,000, which is being funded by the Mesa College Foundation.