Rosa Parks’ essay on rape sheds light on her legacy

The Takeaway

Over the weekend, the AP gained access to a six-page essay handwritten by Rosa Parks, recounting details of a white man attacking and attempting to rape his black housekeeper. It’s unclear whether the story is autobiographical or fictional, but it provides a window into the life of Rosa Parks, a legendary human rights activist who spent years bringing the cases of rape and violence against black women to national attention. We hear about the essay from  Danielle McGuire, an assistant professor at Wayne State University and author of  “At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance.”

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