Everyone knows the name of Rosa Parks. Protesting with Rosa Parks expands our understanding of her bravery by putting it into the context of nearly 200 years of similar protests by other Black passengers who refused to give up their right to ride with equality and dignity.

John Bollard, in conversation with Professor Ousmane Power-Greene of Clark University, will introduce this revealing new book and some of the figures in it. Outstanding among them is Florence’s own David Ruggles, who was the first to teach us the value of persistent nonviolence and publicity in sustained opposition to racism and intolerance. Sojourner Truth and Basil Dorsey, both Florence residents, and William Howard Day of Northampton also contributed significantly to the effort in the early years of the struggle against Jim Crow. There are many others from around the country – some of whom you may know about already and more whom you can get to know here.

Protesting with Rosa Parks is published by NewSouth Books, an imprint of The University of Georgia Press.