Kerry Washington recreates Rosa Parks mugshot: 'She took that seat in order to take a stand'

Kerry Washington paid tribute to late civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks in recreating a February 1956 mugshot of Parks after her arrest in the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

‘Back with some more #BlackHERstory! This time celebrating THE Rosa Parks,’ the 45-year-old star said in the caption of Parks, who was famously arrested December 1, 1955 after refusing to relinquish her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama.

In a side-by-side shot, Washington donned a grey patterned coat over a white button-up top with glasses and her hair parted and braided. She held up a sign reading ‘7053,’ which was the booking number authorities assigned her in the wake of her arrest at the boycott.

The latest: Kerry Washington, 45, paid tribute to late civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks in recreating a February 1956 mugshot of Parks after her arrest in the Montgomery Bus Boycott

In the post, the Emmy-winning actress noted the tireless efforts Parks put forth prior to becoming a famed American icon for her actions on the bus.

‘A lot of people think that Rosa’s activism started with her refusing to give up her seat on the bus,’ said the Little Fires Everywhere star. ‘But she lived a life of activism long before that. Fighting, boycotting, marching, and even working as an investigator for the NAACP, advocating against sexual assaults on Black women.’

Washington, who is mother to two children with husband Nnamdi Asomugha, 40 – daughter Isabelle, seven, and son Caleb, five – noted how ‘it was Parks’ act of civil disobedience on that bus that sparked a revolution,’ ultimately leading to the yearlong Montgomery Bus Boycott.

The boycott helped launched the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to nationwide prominence, and racial segregation was ultimately outlawed on the buses in Montgomery following a lawsuit.

Parks was pictured in February 1956 in Montgomery, Alabama working her then-job as a seamstress 

Parks was honored with with the Congressional Gold Medal by former President Bill Clinton in June of 1999

‘She took that seat in order to take a stand,’ Washington said of the seamstress-turned-NAACP activist. ‘That seat on the bus was her fighting stance – and so we continue the fight today, in whatever way we can!’

Washington, who portrayed Olivia Pope on the political drama Scandal, urged her 6.5 million followers to use their voices in issues dear to them.

‘Let’s ask ourselves, what can we do!’ she said. ‘Sit. Stand. March. Make calls. Volunteer. Talk to your family and friends. Do whatever you can and however you can. Rosa taught us that. And we are forever grateful. It was an honor to honor her.’

Parks was honored with with the Congressional Gold Medal by former President Bill Clinton in 1999. She died in Detroit in October of 2005 at the age of 92.

Washington shared an advertisement touting an appearance Parks made in Baltimore in 1956

Washington was snapped at ELLE’s 27th Annual Women In Hollywood event in October

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