US Postal Service issues special Rosa Parks stamp

by Mike Householder, Associated Press |
The Rosa Parks commemorative stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service honoring of civil rights icon Rosa Parks is unveiled February 4, 2013 at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan. The stamp went on sale February 4, 2013, what would have been Rosa Park's 100th birthday. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

The Rosa Parks commemorative stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service honoring of civil rights icon Rosa Parks is unveiled February 4, 2013 at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan. The stamp went on sale February 4, 2013, what would have been Rosa Park's 100th birthday. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

DEARBORN, Michigan (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service has issued a special Rosa Parks stamp on what would have been the late civil rights icon’s 100th birthday.

The Rosa Parks Forever Stamp went on sale Monday and its issue is one of several events scheduled throughout the day to honor Parks.

The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn is hosting a 12-hour celebration featuring speeches, music and presentations.

Event-goers also are being given the opportunity to take a seat on the Rosa Parks bus, which is on permanent display inside the museum.

Parks was arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus to a white man, an act that helped bring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to prominence.

Parks later moved to Detroit. She died in 2005.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.