24 | FEBRUARY 22 • 2024
J
N
R
osa Parks is recognized
as one of the foremost
pioneers of the Civil Rights
Movement — a soft-spoken,
dignified African American
woman who wouldn’t give up
her seat to a white man on a
Montgomery, Alabama, city
bus. Her subsequent arrest led
to a boycott of Montgomery’s
segregated public bus system by
local African Americans and a
hard-earned early success for the
civil rights movement.
The Friends of Pasteur
(friendsofpasteur.org), a local
nonprofit that provides enrichment
for Detroit’s Pasteur Elementary
School students, brought Parks to
life with a special gift from Ron
Cohen, a 1962 Pasteur graduate,
and his wife, Christie Smith. With
their donation, an amazing Rosa
Parks reenactor from Montgomery,
Alabama — Ann Clemons —
visited Detroit for educational
presentations at Pasteur School,
New Prospect Memorial Baptist
Church in Detroit and Temple Shir
Tikvah in Troy.
Cohen saw Clemons’
reenactment of Rosa Parks on a
trip to civil rights sites organized
last year by Cary Levy, a long-
time friend and corresponding
secretary for the Friends of
Pasteur. “She really portrayed the
problems of Montgomery. She was
phenomenal,” Cohen said. While
he has lived in Oregon for many
years, Cohen has contributed
to the Friends of Pasteur since
its inception and attended some
board meetings.
Clemons’ first presentation was
held on Feb. 1 at New Prospect
Missionary Baptist Church, a
partner and neighbor of Pasteur
School. Rev. Carnel Richardson,
church pastor, mentioned his
involvement in the Coalition for
Black and Jewish Unity to Levy.
The Coalition is a program of the
OUR COMMUNITY
Ann Clemons
reenacting
Rosa Parks
SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Bringing
Civil Rights
History to
Life
Friends of Pasteur host
educational program
about Rosa Parks.
RABBI ASHER LOPATIN