Lawyer Turns in Rosa Parks' Items in Bankruptcy Case
Among the surrendered items was a signed, first-edition copy of Booker T. Washington's 1901 autobiography, "Up From Slavery."
December 05, 2017 at 03:26 PM
2 minute read
Several items that belonged to civil rights icon Rosa Parks have been surrendered by her former attorney in Detroit as part of a bankruptcy case against him, though several items are still missing.
Lawyer Gregory Reed, who was Parks' legal adviser in the 1990s, was ordered to surrender more than 100 items in his possession two years ago to satisfy creditors. Among the surrendered items was a signed, first-edition copy of Booker T. Washington's 1901 autobiography, “Up From Slavery,” The Detroit News reported.
But several items were still missing as of a Tuesday deadline, including Parks' key to the city and an early draft of a book written by Parks. Reed, who has said his clients included singers Aretha Franklin and Anita Baker, also was ordered to turn over framed gold records and iron slave shackles.
Rosa Parks (Photo: Credit: Ebony Magazine/National Archives via Wikimedia Commons)
The missing items are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to Erica Ehrlichman, a lawyer for bankruptcy trustee Kenneth Nathan. It's unclear if the items have been sold, lost or hidden.
Reed has said most of the items belonged to a nonprofit he created, Keeper of the Word Foundation, to buy and preserve historical documents. Court records allege that Reed used his nonprofit to hide assets from creditors.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Marci McIvor has grown concerned about the increasing costs of finding the missing items. Legal fees in years-long case have grown to about $400,000, though creditors have only recovered about $75,000.
Ehrlichman filed court documents Monday seeking to cancel a hearing to determine if Reed should be sent to jail for failing to turn over certain items. Reed criticized the attempt, telling the newspaper that the motion “was inappropriate, frivolous and totally unnecessary.” He has said most of the missing items belonged to his nonprofit.
Parks became a pioneer in the civil rights movement by refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. She later moved to Detroit.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllUS Bankruptcy Filings Rise 16.2% as Interest Rates, Inflation, End of COVID Relief Hit Hard
3 minute readLongtime Kilpatrick Lawyer Exits to Help Lead Eversheds' Restructuring Team
3 minute readRudy Giuliani's Bankruptcy Dismissal Finalized Following Fee Dispute
Et Tu, EDVA? Why Big Law Is Dodging a Once-Favorable Bankruptcy Venue
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250