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Educators Laud Center's Rosa Parks Film

In the days after Civil Rights leader Rosa Parks died, educators contacted the Center voicing their appreciation for Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks.

Rosa Parks is the focus of one of the Center's most successful teaching kits, Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks, which has been sent free to tens of thousands of educators across the country.

In the days following her death on October 24, some wrote to the Center to express their gratitude for the kit and to describe the impact it had in their classrooms.

"I'm so honored to be sitting in my classroom with 7th and 8th graders right now, way out here in Wyoming, showing them Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks. I would not be able to do this without your work and funding for the video," said a Casper junior high teacher.

"With Mrs. Parks' death last night, my kids are actually totally engaged in what they are seeing and hearing. I provided them with academic background knowledge prior to watching the film, but I know this viewing will help them know forever more who Rosa Parks was and what she did. Thank you!"

A Pendleton, Kentucky, social studies teacher thanked the Center for the free materials she received the week before Mrs. Parks' death and added:

"Today, one day after the death of Rosa Parks, I have enjoyed sharing the information with my high school students that your organization provided. It has truly been one of those 'teachable moments' in history that, as a teacher, I crave. My students enjoyed the presentation on Ms. Parks and have learned so much."

"I have taught in the Detroit Public Schools for over 30 years," wrote a middle school teacher the day after Mrs. Parks, who lived in Detroit, died. "On Monday, we viewed the Mighty Times video during my debate, history and civics class. Last night, we lost our beloved Rosa Parks. I feel she was reaching out, especially to the youth in our city, for it was no coincidence she was in our classroom just hours before she passed.

"I wrote to you, thanking you for the teaching package, before I left school yesterday, thanking you for its lesson and message, that the appreciation of the love of life is achievable without violence. Mighty Times conveys this so well. Thank you, thank you."

Two days after Mrs. Parks' death, the Center's Teaching Tolerance program sent an e-newsletter to educators throughout the country, reminding them of the free Mighty Times teaching kit, which includes a teaching guide with classroom activities in addition to the Academy Award-nominated film.