Statues of Rosa Parks and Helen Keller unveiled at Alabama Capitol building

Statues of Helen Keller and Rosa Parks were unveiled Friday morning on the Alabama Capitol grounds in Montgomery, making them the first women to be honored with statues on the state Capitol campus.

The statues were unveiled Oct. 24, the 20th anniversary of Parks’ death. They were the culmination of a six-year effort by the Alabama Women’s Tribute Statue Commission which was established by the Legislature to commission and place the statues.

“We gather to honor two remarkable Alabama women whose courage, faith and determination not only changed our state, but our world,” Gov. Kay Ivey said in a ceremony dedicating the statues, adding that their lives “show what one determined woman can do to change the world to a better place.”

Helen Keller

Born in Tuscumbia, Keller lost her sight and hearing as a toddler. She learned to communicate with her fingers after being taught by her teacher Anne Sullivan, who went on to become her friend and lifelong companion. Keller was a prolific author and advocate for civil liberties for women, the poor and those with disabilities.

After World War II, she became a global ambassador for the United States, extending her reach with helping those with disabilities, the dedication service program reads.

Her statue on the south lawn of the state Capitol weighs about 15,000 pounds. Her bronze likeness sits on a semi-circular limestone bench, a book showing Braille and text letters rests in her lap. She is portrayed holding out her left hand, fingers open.

“The statue’s placement on a bench gives all visitors the opportunity to sit with Helen, just as a companion would when interacting through tactile lip reading,” artist Thomas Jay Warren wrote in the program. “So I placed a book on her lap, turned toward a person who would sit next to her, with the explanation of the technique in both text and Braille, and the invitation from Helen to place one’s face in her hand.”

Rosa Parks

Born in Tuskegee, Parks was working as a seamstress on Dec. 1, 1955, when she refused to give up her seat at the front of a Montgomery city bus to a white person. In those segregated times, Black people were forced to sit in the back of the bus. They could sit in the front if space was available, but had to give up that seat to a white person if necessary.

Parks’ arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and accelerated the modern Civil Rights Movement in America. The boycott lasted more than 380 days as Black residents refused to ride the city buses. The United States Supreme Court eventually ruled that segregation of public bus systems was unconstitutional.

Her statue stands on front lawn of the state Capitol, on the right side of the steps leading to the front entrance. Parks’ statue is directly across from a statue of Jefferson Davis, who was sworn in as the first and only president of the Confederacy, at the Capitol in 1861.

Parks’ statue stands 9 feet, 8 inches tall and portrays her striding forward.

“I portray Ms. Parks in action because she was a civil rights activist,” artist Julia Knight wrote in the program. “The strong diagonal lines of her skirt as she lifts her foot onto the step of the bus; the billowing coat increasing her volume; and her outstretched hand describe this momentous occasion when she decided to step up to equality.”

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com. To support his work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Alabama honors Helen Keller, Rosa Parks with statues at state Capitol