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Some relatives of Rosa Parks, left, contend her caretaker Elaine Steele, right, is trying to gain financially from their relationship.
Ms. Parks's relatives have squared off against her lawyer and caretaker over who can best protect her interests. The dispute is especially poignant because Ms. Parks, who is 91, may not even be aware of it. Her doctor recently asserted in a court document that she has dementia and cannot testify or be deposed.
The fight stems in part from litigation that has been filed in her name but that her relatives doubt she knows about. They say her longtime caretaker and confidante, Elaine Steele, and her lawyers are seeking monetary settlements for their own gain.
Ms. Steele is the co-founder of the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, which could share in the proceeds from any settlement. She contends that the suits, over a song invoking her name, are meant to protect Ms. Parks's reputation. Her family argues that they trivialize it.
On Wednesday, the federal judge overseeing the suits, George Steeh, appointed one of Detroit's most respected residents, the former mayor Dennis Archer, to review the matter.
"Rosa Parks is a mother of the civil rights movement," said Representative John Lewis, Democrat of Georgia, who marched alongside her in protests in the 1960's. "It would be very unfortunate if people forgot her raw courage and remembered her as an elderly African-American lady who sued a rock band."
The story of how Ms. Parks reached this point combines heroism with pathos, and regal dignity with seething anger. It is tinged with racism and generous doses of jealousy.
Ms. Parks was a seamstress in Montgomery, Ala., when, on Dec.1, 1955, she defied segregation laws and insisted on sitting in the front section of a city bus, which was reserved for whites. Her actions led to a yearlong bus boycott that resulted in the integration of the bus system. It also helped focused worldwide attention on racism in the United States and brought the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to broad public attention for the first time.
Two years later, Ms. Parks left Alabama to join her brother in Detroit. She found low-paying work in a factory that manufactured dishrags. Ms. Steele, a young co-worker, became a friend and confidante. Years later, after Ms. Parks had regained a measure of prominence while the civil rights movement was being celebrated, she signed a document giving Ms. Steele her power of attorney.
Although Ms. Parks had no children, her brother had 13. They were close to her for years, but now complain that Ms. Steele has made it all but impossible for them to see her.
"It's gotten to this point over time,'' said Rhea D. McCauley, one of Ms. Parks's nieces. "Auntie Rosa does feel safe with Elaine. She's been in her life a long time. But if my aunt was still aware of things, she would never have allowed this lawsuit to go forward. She was very protective of her reputation, and now it's being besmirched by greed."
The suit involves a song called "Rosa Parks" that is a protest against the way recording companies treat artists. It does not mention Ms. Parks beyond the title, but it includes the line, "Ah ha, hush that fuss/ Everybody move to the back of the bus." The suit alleges that the song, recorded by the hip-hop group OutKast, defamed her and violated her trademark rights.
Mr. Archer, who is a former justice of the Michigan Supreme Court and immediate past president of the American Bar Association, said the judge's order "really came out of the blue."
"He called, asked me if I could do it, and I said I would," he said. "I plan to make sure her interests are exceptionally well represented."
The lawyer who has been representing Ms. Parks, Gregory Reed, did not return messages left at his office. Ms. Steele declined to be interviewed but referred inquiries to another of her lawyers, Shirley Kaigler, who said Judge Steeh's order "does not appear to be appropriate."
"I'm not the attorney in that matter, but looking over the order, I'm confident Greg and the legal team will file a motion for reconsideration," Ms. Kaigler said. "Ms. Parks has designated legal representation. This order appears to trump that. I have no idea what Mr. Archer is supposed to do."
Ms. Kaigler said she could not discuss Ms. Parks's physical or mental condition because doing so would violate her privacy. Others, however, describe her as feeble.
"She was fairly lucid when I interviewed her in the late 90's, but when I came back six months later, her health had greatly deteriorated," said Douglas Brinkley, author of "Rosa Parks," a biography that is part of the Penguin Lives series. "At this point, I really don't think she knows much of what is going on."
"On one hand, I respect the group around her because they are gatekeepers," Mr. Brinkley said. "Everyone wants a piece of her, so she needs that. But they picked the wrong case with OutKast. It's a questionable lawsuit that taints her legacy. In part it's a reflection of the feeling that many African-Americans have, from Chuck Berry to Martin Luther King's family, that they've been ripped off by white America."
OutKast and the entertainment conglomerate BMG Entertainment were the original targets of the lawsuit, but last summer Judge Steeh excluded OutKast as a defendant, saying the plaintiff had not named members of the group or complied with other legal requirements. A second suit, filed this summer, seeks $5 billion from various record companies for the OutKast song, and from Borders and Barnes & Noble for distributing the recording.
At least some of the proceeds from any settlement or judgment in these lawsuits would presumably go to the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development. It raises money for social and educational projects. Raymond Parks is Ms. Parks's late husband.
Ms. Parks's nieces and nephews issued a statement on Saturday charging that Ms. Steele and Mr. Reed had filed the lawsuits for "personal gain and selfish motives."
"If our aunt was of physical and mental capacity, we believe she would appreciate the talented group of young men that meant only to pay tribute to her legacy," the statement said.
In his two-page order, Judge Steeh did not say why he was taking the unusual step of bringing Mr. Archer into the case, but he indicated some irritation at Mr. Reed and Ms. Steele. He rejected Mr. Reed's contention that Ms. Parks already had a legal guardian, saying Mr. Reed "does not identify this phantom individual, and a review of this record reveals no such appointment has previously occurred.''
The judge said Mr. Reed may have been referring to Ms. Steele as the guardian, but "she is not an attorney who would be able to assess independently the merits of the many disputes.''
J. Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which produced a documentary about Ms. Parks in 2002, said he viewed the dispute as "a mixed thing.''
"Ms. Steele met Ms. Parks at a time when she was not being represented or helped by anyone,'' Mr. Cohen said. "Some might say that she could have had a more skilled or more sophisticated agent, but this woman stepped in at a time when others didn't.''
Mr. Cohen added: "I feel sorry for Ms. Parks, and I'm glad to see Dennis Archer involved. He's a man of sterling reputation. I'm sure he'll get to the bottom of it.''
Source: AP