"Historical Flex": Man Who Shared Baby Picture With Rosa Parks Speaks On Its Origin

Source: Chandler Cosey

If you were wondering why Rosa Parks was trending on social media recently.

The man behind the viral photo of himself as a baby being held by Rosa Parks has spoken out on it.

READ: Musical About Civil Rights Icon Rosa Parks In Development

On Monday, model and artist Chandler Cosey shared a picture of himself as a child and as a young adult accompanied with the caption "Lil Chan vs Big Chan." The former image shows Cosey being held by Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks. It's this image in particular that Twitter users focused on, with people playfully calling the picture a "historical flex."

While speaking with the Detroit Metro Times, the now 24-year-old Cosey spoke on the origin of the image.

"The photo was taken in August 1996 I was around one and a half years old," Cosey explained to the Times via text. "The event was a civil rights activist dinner I believe and it was taken by Monica Morgan a photographer from Detroit."

Parks passed away at the age of 92 of natural causes. A few years back it was revealed that Mike Illitch, the owner of Little Caesars, had paid Parks' rent for 11 years.

Illitch and Parks met when the latter's house was broken into back in August 1994. The 81-year-old civil rights icon had sustained several injuries, and was also robbed. Upon learning about the incident Illitch, along with other Detroit residents, helped move Parks into a new apartment. But Illitch did not just stop there — he also paid her rent up until her death in 2005.

Source: Detroit Metro Times