55 Years After Rosa Parks Made History, Next Generation Gets to Work

Dec. 1, 2010— -- Fifty-five years after a humble but spirited black woman changed history by refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger, a whole new generation of trailblazers has emerged.

Rosa Parks, whose quiet determination led to the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott, paved the way for thousands more.

Doris Crenshaw, the founder and CEO of the Southern Youth Leadership Development Institute, was the vice president of the NAACP's student council when Parks was arrested.

"She was very humble, but she was very solid in her convictions about her God and service for what she used to call our people," Crenshaw said today.

This weekend, the Southern Youth Leadership Development Institute is, in conjunction with the city of Montgomery and a conglomeration of universities and local companies, honoring not only Parks' legacy, but also the next generation.

Below are five people Crenshaw calls "legends in the making:"

Just 15 years old, this Florida teenager has already caught the eye of many leaders in the medical field after developing for a school science fair a new surgical technique to reduce complications during hysterectomies.

"I think we will be reading much about him in the future," Crenshaw said of Hansberry.

The 21-year-old New Jersey native has been called by some "America's Youngest Media Mogul." He founded a company, HG3 Media, in 2003 and grew it into a multi-million-dollar enterprise.

According to Griggs' website, the entrepreneur and youth mentor was born into poverty. He began his career at age 7 when he turned a job videotaping church sermons into a business -- selling the tapes for $15 each. At age 14, he founded Justice Inc., an organization that calls attention to economic, politician and social issues.

The Congresswoman-elect from Selma, Ala., has deep roots in the civil rights movement -- her family's property was among the places the marchers slept en route to Montgomery.

Sewell, the first black female partner at the law firm of Maynard, Cooper, & Gale, P.C. in Birmingham, has long been a community activist, will also be the first black woman to represent Alabama in Congress.

Crenshaw called Sewell "outstanding."

"She's well grounded," Crenshaw said, "she's well educated."

The youngest child of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, Bernice King, 47, is an ordained minister and founder of the Be a King scholarship at her alma mater, Spelman College.

She is a nationally and internationally renowned speaker. Her Facebook page bears the quote: "The pride and treasure of our nation is our youth. Any nation that neglects the teaching and the upbringing of its youth is a nation on the decline."

Raised in Selma, Ala., Christburg, now 54, was called Martin Luther King's "Smallest Freedom Fighter." In March 1965, on the day that would become known as "Bloody Sunday," Christburg -- at age 8 -- was the youngest person to attempt the march to Montgomery.

She later wrote a book about her experience, titled "Selma Lord Selma." The book was turned into a 1999 television movie.