Little Caesars founder quietly paid Rosa Parks’ rent for years By Eric Levenson. 2 minute read Published 11:52 AM EST, Wed February 15, 2017 A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Mike Ilitch reportedly once paid the rent of civil rights activist Rosa Parks when she moved into a Detroit apartment complex in 1994. he called the judge and said he would pay for Parks The judge said Ilitch paid Parks' mortgage until the day she died in 2005. Parks is known as "The First Lady of Civil Rights," after she refused to give up her seat to a white person on a bus, sparking a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, which then led to nationwide protests to end segregation in public facilities. After Ilitch read about Parks’ search in the newspaper, he contacted Keith and offered to pay for Parks’ rent ($2,000 a month) in perpetuity. In total, Ilitch paid for Parks’ rent from 1994 until her death in 2005. Keith, himself an important legal figure in the civil rights movement, worked to find Parks a new, safer apartment at the Riverfront Apartments in Detroit, according to the Sports Business Daily. Little Caesars' Billionaire Founder Mike Ilitch Paid Rosa Parks's Rent for Years. Some feel-good news in the world of fast food magnates By Kate Sullivan Published: Feb 16, 2017 10:06 AM EST. The news that the business owner had arranged to pay for Parks' rent first appeared back in 2014, when a federal judge spoke with the Sports Business Journal. "It's important that people know what Civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks sits in a 1950s-era bus in Alabama, in this 1995 file photo, 40 years after she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a city bus to a white person Ilitch read the story in the newspaper and called Keith, offering to pay for Parks' housing indefinitely. With no fanfare, Ilitch continued paying for the apartment until Parks died in 2005, Keith Keith told the Sports Business Daily in a 2014 that he helped find Parks a safer place to live. She eventually settled at the Riverfront Apartments in Detroit, according to the journal. According to CNN, Judge Damon Keith of Detroit says Ilitch called him in 1994 and offered to help Parks, after she was beaten and robbed in her Detroit home at the age of 81. Judge Keith helped Parks find a safer neighborhood and provided proof of checks that Ilitch sent to pay Parks' mortgage. Rosa Parks is fingerprinted by Dep. Sheriff D.H. Lackey in Montgomery, Ala., on Feb. 22, 1956, two months after refusing to give up her seat on a bus for a white passenger on Dec. 1, 1955. Mike Ilitch, who founded Little Caesars and who owned the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Tigers, died on Friday at the age of 87. Now, as Detroit marks the loss of the pizza magnate, Lt. Gov. Brian The Little Caesars founder paid for Rosa Parks’ housing for over a decade after she was robbed and assaulted in her home in 1994. Damon Keith, a federal judge in Detroit who helped Parks find a Those who knew Mike Ilitch, the Little Caesars founder and Detroit Tigers owner who died last Friday, have spent the past few days fondly remembering his impact on friends, on Detroit residents Ilitch quietly paid Rosa Parks' rent until she died Back in February 2014, SportsBusiness Daily reported that Ilitch had arranged to pay for housing for civil rights icon Rosa Parks after she was DETROIT – Those who knew Mike Ilitch, the Little Caesars founder and Detroit Tigers owner who died last Friday, have spent the past few days fondly remembering his impact on friends, on Detroit Why Little Caesars pizza founder Mike Ilitch paid Rosa Parks' rent. Sarah Larimer. Updated Feb 17, 2017 – 10.47am, first published at 9.52am. Save. <p>Mike Ilitch, owner of the Detroit Red Wings and rounder of Little Caesars Pizza, is shown during a parade to celebrate winning the 2008 Stanley Cup on June 6, 2008 in Detroit, Michigan.</p> Little Caesars' Billionaire Founder Mike Ilitch Paid Rosa Parks's Rent for Years. Some feel-good news in the world of fast food magnates By Kate Sullivan Published: Feb 16, 2017 10:06 AM EST.
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