New photographs of Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks, taken during the historic Selma to Montgomery march in 1965, have been made public for the first time, offering a fresh perspective on her enduring legacy beyond her iconic act of civil disobedience. These images, captured by the late Civil Rights photographer Matt Herron, depict Parks participating in the five-day, 54-mile (87-kilometre) trek that is widely credited with building political momentum for the US Voting Rights Act of 1965.
While history often defines Parks by her refusal to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, on December 1, 1955 – an act that sparked the 381-day Montgomery Bus Boycott and ultimately overturned racial segregation on public transport – these newly released photographs highlight her sustained commitment to activism. Last Friday, participants and descendants of organisers gathered to mark 70 years since that pivotal struggle in Alabama’s capital caught national attention.
