Rosa Parks statue is located in the United States Capitol's National Statuary Hall

Rosa Parks statue is located in the United States Capitol's National Statuary Hall.

The Rosa Parks statue, authorized by Congress in 2005, is historically noteworthy as the first full-length statue of an African American person in the United States Capitol. It is also Congress's first statue commission since 1873. It follows the bust of Martin Luther King Jr., which was also commissioned by Congress and unveiled in 1986, and the bust of Sojourner Truth, which was revealed in 2009. The Rosa Parks statue is not part of the National Statuary Hall Collection, despite its presence in the United States Capitol.

Rosa Parks is shown in the same clothes she wore on the day she was arrested in the monument. Based on photographic evidence, she is depicted wearing a circular brimless hat, spectacles, a fabric coat over her dress, laced shoes, and she is holding the handle of her pocketbook. She is sat atop a rock formation, almost as if she is a part of it, signifying her legendary refusal to give up her bus seat. Her upper body is turned slightly to the right. Her head is erect, her back is straight, and both her wrists and ankles are crossed; this position, together with the expression on her face, implies inner strength, dignity, resolution, and determination, all of which are traits of her long-standing devotion to civil rights work.

The statue stands about nine feet tall, including the pedestal. The bronze figure weighs 600 pounds, and the granite pedestal, which has been partially hollowed out on the interior, weighs 2,100 pounds. The pedestal is composed of Raven Black granite and simply etched with her name and birth and death dates, "Rosa Parks/1913–2005."