The Incredible Life of Rosa Parks with H.H. Leonards

There are many people who have been prominent in our history yet have been hidden from textbooks, from conversations, and from praise and appropriate adulation. Tayo’s guest today, H.H. Leonards, got to know one of these people, Rosa Parks, in the latter years of her life and has now written a book shedding light on this amazing woman. H.H. opens the episode by telling us how Mrs. Parks came to live with her in The Mansion on O Street after being assaulted in her home in Detroit and how H.H’s vision for the mansion made it the perfect place for Mrs. Parks to recover. She also explains that she didn’t know then who Mrs. Parks was (and wouldn’t for three years) because of a lack of education about civil rights and how she’s now driven to make sure people get to know Mrs. Parks’ heart and soul.

Next, Tayo asks H.H. what Mrs. Parks might have thought about the divisions we see in society today. H.H. shares Mrs. Parks’ prescient belief that the laws would roll back if we didn’t spend time meeting with people who don’t share our beliefs and how she put herself out there to try to change people’s hearts and teach them that love is all that matters. Together, they also discuss Mrs. Parks’ belief in education and lifelong learning before H.H. closes the show by sharing that she uses her difference to make a difference by following Mrs. Parks’ wise words on forgiving others and yourself.

Episode Highlights: