SCLC #504 — 1995 Detroit interactive Commemorative Park proposal

Finding #504: A 1995 fortieth-anniversary prospectus proposed an interactive Rosa Parks Commemorative Park in Detroit. Detroit nonprofit Helping Other People (HOP) planned November 28–29 fundraising events at Cobo Hall and Joe Louis Arena. The envisioned outdoor “National Participative Historical Park” would use interactive educational technology for episodes of Parks’s journey and the history of justice and nonviolence.

The prospectus documents a specific fundraising and public-history concept, not construction, dedication, money raised, land obtained, or Parks’s participation/approval/governance of HOP. A separate overview lists a commemorative-park dedication among planned activities — promotional intentions, not completion records.

Craft locks: prospectus ≠ built park; distinct from Detroit museum boycott-exhibit proposal (different institution); naming Parks in a prospectus ≠ detailed involvement. Year anchored by 1995 tour dates and “this year” phrasing on the park page.

Source: LOC Rosa Parks Papers Box 20 Folder 5 leaves 0018/0021/0027 · repo. Standing three hundred forty-three held.