Rosa Parks Museum held wine tasting fundraiser as Macon-Bibb officials considered alcohol ban

While Macon-Bibb County officials and hundreds of people across the community debated a proposed alcohol ban at Rosa Parks Square, a museum bearing the civil rights leader’s name was holding a wine tasting event.

Supporters of an alcohol ban at the downtown park say it should be a place of reflection and respect, not somewhere to indulge in adult beverages. But the Rosa Parks Museum at Troy University in Alabama hosted a fundraiser titled “Rosé with Rosa” on May 4, about a week after a news conference in Macon opposing a beer festival that’s been held at the park.

The initial ordinance for the Rosa Parks Square alcohol ban was introduced May 9. Commissioners are finally expected to vote Wednesday on a compromise prohibiting alcohol in the park that would be contingent on a new Poplar Street park being built. The ordinance would also designate Rosa Parks Square as a memorial.

Rosa Parks Museum is located in Montgomery, Alabama — the city where Parks’ refusal to leave her bus seat helped ignite the Montgomery bus boycott — and eventual integration on public transportation. The museum is described on its website as “the world’s only museum” dedicated to Parks and “an active memorial to the life and lessons of the civil rights icon.”

Macon-Bibb County requires a permit for events with alcohol that are held in its parks.

This story was originally published June 30, 2017 at 11:15 AM with the headline "Rosa Parks Museum held wine tasting fundraiser as Macon-Bibb officials considered alcohol ban."