MONTGOMERY – Troy University’s Rosa Parks Museum will present “A Conversation with Mrs. Lucille Times,” at 6 p.m. on Feb. 23 in the museum’s auditorium.

The event is free and open to the public. However, seating is limited and those wishing to participate are asked to RSVP to mburkhardt@troy.edu. Dr. Felicia Bell, director of the Rosa Parks Museum, and Attorney Troy King will host the conversation.

On June 15, 1955, six months prior to the arrest of Rosa Parks, Mrs. Times had a confrontation with a white bus driver who tried to run her car off the road. She argued with the bus driver, who called the police, but Mrs. Times was not arrested. After the incident, Mrs. Times started boycotting the city buses by driving by bus stops to pick up waiting black passengers. When the official boycott began on Dec. 5, 1955, Times and her husband, Charlie, continued providing rides to individuals in need.

In 1965, the Times’ participated in the Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March and opened their home to 18 activists, of all races, from around the country during and after the march. The Times’ were charter members of many organizations and clubs, including the NAACP, the Montgomery Improvement Association and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Mrs. Times has received numerous awards for the couples’ civil rights activism, including the Drum Major for Justice Award. Mrs. Times also received the Senior of Alabama Award from the Montgomery Area Council on Aging. A part of her personal collection is housed in the H. Councill Trenholm State Technical College Archives in Montgomery.

“After valiantly serving in the U. S. Army Air Corps during World War II, Mr. Times came home to a country where he and his wife, Lucille, were considered and treated as second-class citizens,” Dr. Bell said. “African American couples like the Times’ who owned a successful business risked their livelihood and their lives fighting for their civil rights, equality and justice. We’re honored to host Mrs. Times for a visit to the Rosa Parks Museum and look forward to learning more about her experience leading up to and during the Montgomery Bus Boycott.”

For additional information, contact the museum at 334-241-8701.