Duanesburg students start petition to have Rosa Parks image placed on U.S. currency

Duanesburg High School student Colby Hochmuth believes it’s time a woman was represented on conventional paper currency, and could think of no more fitting choice than Rosa Parks — often referred to as “the mother of civil rights.”

Parks, who died in October at the age of 92, essentially launched the modern day civil rights movement.

In Alabama in 1955, Parks was arrested after refusing a bus driver’s order to surrender her seat to a white passenger. Her action subsequently fueled the Montgomery Bus Boycott — a significant and successful protest against racial segregation in the South.

“Having only white men pictured on dollar bills doesn’t represent who we are as a country in the 21st century,” Hochmuth said. “We’re becoming more diverse, and it’s important to recognize that.”

On Friday, the Duanesburg ninth-grader and hundreds of her schoolmates signed a petition in support of having Park’ image placed on U.S. currency.
“Mrs. Parks deserves the recognition because her action had such a huge effect on our history,” said high school senior Krystal Wells, who volunteered to help run the petition drive.

Fellow senior Kelley Smith agreed. “Some of the most important people in our history are illustrated on our money. Mrs. Parks is important, not just because she’s a woman or because she’s black, but because of what she did for the country,” she said. “She showed us all that the use of force is not necessary to solve problems.” 

The petition-signing campaign was part of an action plan proposed by Duanesburg middle school students during the Study Circles program at Union College in December. Study Circles is an annual event that brings students from the seven Schenectady County school districts together to discuss issues, such as race relations and racism. High school students adopted the idea to commemorate Parks’ role in history and collaborated with their middle school counterparts on the initiative.

To promote this effort, students interviewed Shirley Readdean, a civil rights proponent from Schenectady. The interview was broadcast on the school’s morning news program prior to Friday’s petition signing.

“To raise understanding and awareness, we must educate each other about each other,” said Readdean, a representative of Schenectady County Embraces Diversity and a facilitator of Study Circles. “I tell students there’s one race – the human race – and we’re all a part of it.”

Readdean, who was a guest speaker for the high school’s Participation in Government class, said she is proud of the students for taking action to eliminate racism. 

“They’re responsible for developing this idea, and running with it,” she said. “We hope to network with other schools and organizations in the Capital District and across the state to make this happen.”

Students hope so, too.

“I’d like to see the petition have a domino effect,” Wells said, “and collect enough signatures to start the legislative process, eventually having a bill presented to Congress.”

“For a small school, this is big,” said Hochmuth. “I think we’ll be able to do it.”

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