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2012
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Whenever I see an auction for civil-rights era keepsakes, such as the personal affects of Rosa Parks [28], it makes me uneasy. It cheapens the legacy of whatever deed was done by that individual when you reduce it to memorabilia. It feels like someone's side-hustle, and I don't dig that. Get a job. Don't go selling off the relation's stuff for cash.
I've always felt that the legacy of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was forever damaged by the incorporation and mass-marketing of his image and message [29]. Sure, some say it's about passing on the message to another generation, but it's really about monetizing it so kinfolk can eat off it. That doesn't sit well with me. Legacies are left behind to buld on, not to exploit. I hope the same thing doesn't happen with Rosa Parks. Next thing you know, we'll have Rosa Parks seat cushions and eye glasses.
Rather than be up for sale, these items should have been donated to a museum. Now, the museums will have to find the money to bid on these artifacts.
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