Norton to Play Rosa Parks in Performance Tonight

WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) this evening will play the role of Rosa Parks in "Let Freedom Ring," a play about the Montgomery Bus Boycott, at the Howard University School of Law Moot Court Room (2900 Van Ness St. NW), from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. The play, featuring a cast of notable local judges and politicians, was written by Paul Handy, Administrative Law Judge for the D.C. Office of Administrative Hearings, and is presented by District 4 of the National Association of Women Judges.

"I'm no Rosa Parks and daunting as it is to try to pretend to be her, it will be a special pleasure and honor to play Mrs. Parks in tonight's performance," said Norton. "As a kid in school in the District, when Parks refused to relinquish her seat, I was thrilled and inspired by her solitary and heroic act of nonviolent defiance of segregation. By the time I joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee years later, her example had inspired an entire generation to activism. The unveiling of her statue in the Capitol in February and tonight's play show her lasting effects on our country."

Judge Handy has written approximately 15 plays and has directed 20 shows. The cast of characters this evening besides Congresswoman Norton as Rosa Parks are: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., played by Judge Robert Risby (D.C. Superior Court); Coretta Scott King, played by Judge Antia Josey-Herring (D.C. Superior Court); Rev. Ralph Abernathy, played by D.C. Councilmember Marion Barry; NAACP President E.D. Nixon, played by Judge Emanuel Brown (Baltimore City Circuit Court); Montgomery, Alabama Mayor Gayle, played by Judge Edward Hargadon (Baltimore City Circuit Court); Foundry worker Chester Lewis, played by Judge Larnzell Martin (Prince George's County Circuit Court); President of Women's Political Council Joann Robinson, played by Judge Sheila Tillerson Adams (Prince George's County Circuit Court); Choir Leader Mary, played by Judge Krystal Alves (Prince George's County Circuit Court); Narrator, played by Judge Vanessa Ruiz (D.C. Court of Appeals).

Published: April 9, 2013