Medical records show Rosa Parks had dementia as early as 2002

<p>Civil rights icon Rosa Parks has suffered from dementia since at least 2002, medical records show.</p><p>The records, released by a federal judge Wednesday, show that when Parks was transferred from one doctor's care to another's in October 2002, the first doctor shared notes indicating that Parks suffered from "progressive dementia." However, it is unclear from the records how long she had the condition, the Detroit Free Press reported.</p><p>Parks' mental state is at issue because of a lawsuit filed on her behalf over the song "Rosa Parks" by hip-hop duo OutKast. Parks' lawyers claim she was defamed when her name was used without her permission.</p><p>Some of Parks' relatives have argued that she never would have agreed to the lawsuit if she had understood it.</p><p>"I'm not a doctor, but I know, dementia or not, my Auntie would never, ever go to this length to hurt some young artists trying to make it in the world," said Rhea McCauley, Parks' niece and the family's spokeswoman. "As a family, our fear is that during her last days Auntie Rosa will be surrounded by strangers trying to make money off of her name."</p><p>Parks' lawyer first filed a lawsuit against OutKast and record company BMG in 1999. A judge dropped OutKast from the suit, and Parks' lawyers filed a second suit in August against several record and distribution companies and stores that sold the song.</p><p>It is not clear from the records released Wednesday whether Parks had dementia when the first suit was filed. However, she did have it before the August suit.</p><p>Defense attorneys for the record companies had requested that Parks testify in the case. However, Parks' lawyer said the 91-year-old could not testify because of her physical and mental state.</p><p>In October, the Free Press filed a motion to make public any sealed medical records in the lawsuits. On Monday, U.S. District Judge George Steeh agreed to release certain medical information that related to Parks' mental state and was relevant to the case.</p><p>Parks was 42 when she refused to give up her seat on a city bus in Montgomery, Ala., in 1955. Her arrest triggered a 381-day boycott of the bus system organized by a then little-known Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.</p>