The Henry Ford to Host Event About Rosa Parks on Dec. 1

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Nov. 24, 2024 ~ Shamayim Harris, known as Mama Shu around Highland Park and Detroit, has slowly built up the Homework House along with the rest of Avalon Village, a city block Harris is developing into a community space she hopes will rise above blight in the neighborhood. Avalon Village began as a dream for Harris after her 2-year-old son, Jakobi RA, was killed by a hit-and-run driver in 2007. She set out first to build Jakobi RA Park on Avalon Street, and from there, worked to revitalize other parts of the neighborhood. In 2021, tragedy struck again when someone shot and killed Harris’ 23-year-old son, Chinyelu Humphrey, in the village. Mama Shu joins Michigan Voices to talk about the future development plans of Avalon Village.

The Henry Ford will commemorate the 69th anniversary of Rosa Park’s Montgomery bus arrest in 1955 with a special free event, Standing For Justice: Rosa Parks’ Detroit on Sunday, Dec. 1. Amber N. Mitchell, curator of Black History at The Henry Ford, will moderate a panel discussion and Q&A with Dr. Jeanne Theoharis, author of The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, and Dorothy Dewberry Aldridge, a native-Detroit civil and human rights advocate who joined Parks in the fight for civil liberties. Mitchell talks about the life and legacy of Rosa Parks and her life after she moved to the city of Detroit.