Statues honoring Rosa Parks, Helen Keller unveiled at Alabama Capitol

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Statues honoring Rosa Parks and Helen Keller, two American heroines who called Alabama home, were unveiled Friday on the grounds of the state Capitol.

The statues are a project of the Alabama Women’s Tribute Statue Commission, which was created in 2019 to commission and place the statues on the grounds of the Alabama Capitol to “recognize two icons of courage, perseverance, and service whose lives have shaped Alabama and the nation.”

The AWTSC says Parks and Keller are exemplary figures in Alabama’s history of determination and passion.

Parks’ bravery during the Montgomery Bus Boycott inspired Alabamians and people around the world to fight for justice in the face of inequality and discrimination. Keller was both deaf and blind, and still learned to communicate, and wrote 12 books as she fought for women’s right to vote.

The statue of Parks sits by the steps of the Capitol facing Dexter Avenue, and Keller’s statue faces the Alabama Statehouse.

Gov. Kay Ivey’s office says these will be the first female statues featured on the Capitol grounds.

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