Brown University abruptly canceled an art exhibit of a home, that was once allegedly occupied by Rosa Park's, after discovering a dispute over its authenticity, reported the Washington Post. 

During the Civil Rights movement, Parks made her way up north and lived in Detroit. Parks lived with her brothers and her niece, Rhea McCauley, who is said to remember the home as a warm, safe and welcoming atmosphere for the family.

However, it was reported that the family eventually lost the home to foreclosure. McCauley said she remembers seeing the home abandoned, and as the community worsened around her, she had a desire to save the home and the legacy it carried. 

McCauley ended up buying the home for $500. She was then connected with the artist Ryan Mendoza, an American artist residing in Berlin. Mendoza has a background in reconstructing abandon homes, and shipped the house piece-by-piece to work on in his Berlin yard. The house has been on display in Berlin since 2016. 

Earlier this year, the house was routed back to the United States, for an exhibit about the Civil Rights movement at Brown University. Mendoza originally chose Brown University to host the historic house because of their connection to the slave trade. However, Brown University decided not to showcase the house after the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development recently questioned claims that Parks did not actually live in the home. 

“The truth is, she didn’t stay there. It’s a house which Rosa Parks’ brother and his family used to live in. It’s no more Rosa Parks’ house than it is my house,” Steven Cohen, attorney at the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development said. 

Cohen added that Parks real house is still in good condition, and is located at 9336 Wildemere St. in Detroit.  “Mrs. Parks and her Institute kept the house in good repair all these years; something the brother’s family apparently didn’t manage to do,” he said.

Mendoza said Brown University doesn't have the right to cancel the show. He is now working with a group of local artist and lawyers to proceed with his showing, and he is fighting for his First Amendment rights. 

"It's a bit presumptuous on the part of Brown that they would consider themselves as having the possibility of canceling the show. This show cannot be canceled," Mendoza said in an interview. 

Brown University said they were not able to discuss details of the dispute. 

Spokesman Brian Clark said, “Brown is not a party in the dispute and therefore we are not in a position to speak about the nature of the dispute. . . . Out of our respect for the legacy of Rosa Parks, Brown is stepping aside to ensure that no action we take negatively affects the situation.”

However, Rosa Park's family is not giving up this fight and believes that it is an important artifact of American history.  

“It’s sad that the United States is in such a shape where they run away from things that are good for people. The house does represent a safe haven, for Auntie Rosa’s escape from the South,” McCauley said. “If you can imagine enduring death threats, people calling your house, throwing glass at your window, not being able to work. She fought hard to stay in Alabama. That house represented the safe haven she needed to get out there and fight some more."

Brown UniversityCivil Rights Erahistoric black sitesRosa Park