Rescued Rosa Parks house due to return to U.S.

Providence — The house where Rosa Parks lived after sparking the Montgomery bus boycott was on a demolition list in Detroit until it was saved by Parks’ niece and a Berlin-based artist, who moved it to Germany and reassembled it in his yard, piece by piece.

Now, it’s set to be returned to the United States and displayed for three months in Rhode Island. It’s a move the artist, Ryan Mendoza, and Parks’ family say is necessary at a time that racial justice is at the center of the American conversation.

“Auntie Rosa was an American hero, and we shouldn’t have to have other countries acknowledge our heroes for us,” said Parks’ niece, Rhea McCauley. “It’s a step in the right direction.”

Mendoza is working on the project with Brown University, which has grappled in recent years with its historical ties to the slave trade. The project fits with the school’s work to address the legacy and public history of slavery, said Anthony Bogues, a Brown University professor and director of its Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice.

“It can be seen as a memorial to her, and as a memorial, it can be seen as a cause of action, and that is how we are trying to think about it,” Bogues said.

While the final details are still being worked out, the plan is to bring the two-story wooden house to the U.S. early next year and reassemble it in Providence inside the WaterFire Arts center.