Rosa Parks' Family Home To Be Offered At New York Auction
Source: The Guardian
The 40ft house, which was reassembled in Berlin and on display in Rhode Island this year, is expected to go for seven figures. The house where Rosa Parks sought refuge after fleeing the south will be offered at auction after being turned into a work of art and shipped across the Atlantic Ocean twice.
Guernsey's auctioneers said it will offer the house where Parks' family lived in a midsummer auction in New York City that also will feature several other items related to African American history and culture. It said it expects the tiny wood-framed house marked with peeling paint to fetch seven figures.
The house, owned by Parks' brother, was abandoned and set for demolition in Detroit before Parks' niece, Rhea McCauley, bought it for $500 and donated it to the American artist Ryan Mendoza in an attempt to preserve the legacy of the civil rights activist. Mendoza shipped it to his home in Berlin and reassembled it in his yard, where it drew a steady stream of visitors.
Mendoza brought it back to the US this year for a temporary exhibit in Rhode Island, but he had been searching for a permanent home. The delicate structure should only be rebuilt one more time, he said. "It's a wonderful way to present the house again to the American people. Let them decide what this house is worth," Mendoza said. "I hope it ends up in the hands of somebody who loves Rosa Parks. I hope it will be on public display."...More.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/14/rosa-parks-house-rebuilt-for-auction
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/06/14/rosa-parks-family-home-auction/700960002/
Parks moved to Detroit in 1957, two years after refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. Her family says Parks stayed in her brother’s home with 17 other relatives.
- Rhea McCauley, Rosa Parks' niece in front of the home.
