Rosa Parks' historic Alabama home targeted by copper thieves

Rosa Parks rides on a Montgomery Area Transit System bus in this undated photo. She was 42, a seamstress, when on Dec. 1, 1955, she defied segregation by refusing to give up her seat to a white man. AP/Montgomery Advertiser

MONTGOMERY, Ala.--Police say copper thieves ransacked the Montgomery, Ala. apartment where Rosa Parks lived in 1955, when she famously refused to give up her seat on a city bus.

Montgomery police are seeking suspects who last weekend ripped and stole copper wiring from Parks' former apartment and six other nearby units, according to the Associated Press.

Police said workers discovered the thefts Monday.

Parks' refusal in 1955 to give her seat on a Montgomery city bus to a white passenger, in defiance of city law, sparked a yearlong bus boycott and became an enduring symbol of the civil rights movement.

CBS affiliate WAKA reports that residents of the Cleveland Court neighborhood where Parks resided will hold a rally next Monday to collect donations in order to offer a reward for information about the incident.

Thad McClammy, an Alabama state representative and resident of the area, told WAKA that the goal is to add to a $1,000 reward currently being offered by Crimestoppers.

"She stood for us 59 years ago, and the least we can do is stand for her," McClammy said.

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Rosa Parks' historic Alabama home targeted by copper thieves