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throwback thursday
In Cosey's tweet, he simply captioned it:
"Lil Chan vs Big Chan"
In the earlier photo, we see a tiny, one- to two-year-old Chandler Cosey in adorable, brown suspenders, being held by an elderly woman on her lap. In the second photo, we see an all-grown-up Cosey, still chilling in suspenders, though now in Philadelphia.
What drew everyone's attention to the photo comparison, however, wasn't how Cosey has grown up, or the fact that he's still rocking suspenders, but who the woman in the first photo is.
@lovechvn / Twitter
It took no time at all for Twitter to figure out who it was and demand answers.
Twitter was quickly putting together that the woman in the photograph looked exactly like Rosa Parks, but being the internet, onlookers needed to know if it was a legitimate photograph.
Was it actually Rosa Parks or just a tremendous doppelganger? Was it photo-shopped?
To all of the inquiries, Cosey simply replied:
"She's my big cousin."
For anyone who may be unaware, Rosa Parks remains a major icon to this day. Back in 1955, she refused to give up her seat on a public bus in Montgomery and move to the back for a White man to take her place. This act of defiance began a revolution, beginning with the Montgomery bus boycott and leading to nationwide activism and desegregation.
And Chandler Cosey just posted a photo of himself in her lap as a baby like it was nothing.
His subtle reaction, paired with casually dropping a never-before-seen picture of Rosa Parks, stirred up the Twitterverse.
People were excited to see this new piece of history make its debut into the world.
So much so, some felt the need to coin the term "historical flexing" for what Cosey had done.
Not only can Cosey say that Rosa Parks is his cousin, but he also contributed a new artifact to one of our leading historical figure profiles.
It's pretty safe to say that Cosey broke Twitter this week, if not the entire internet.
If nothing else, it's heartening to see Rosa Parks as a trending figure during a time other than Black History Month.
Not to mention the fact that this is an important reminder of how young our history is, trailing back not even 70 years ago to when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus in Montgomery in 1955.
Cosey has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and excitement over his photos. So far, the tweet has been retweeted more than 10-thousand times, with more than 74-thousand likes and hundreds of responses.
Cosey said:
"The photo was taken in August 1996 I was around one and a half years old. The event was a civil rights activist dinner I believe and it was taken by Monica Morgan a photographer from Detroit."
Whether living in Detroit or Philadelphia, Cosey is carrying an important piece of history with him.
Who knows how many more private photos family may have of the insurmountable Rosa Parks, but at least we got to see this one.
The Barbie Inspiring Women Rosa Parks Doll is available here.
Rosa Parks 1999 autobiography, Rosa Parks: My Story, is available here.