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December 06, 2005
Remembering Rosa Parks: Parks’ tired refusal also symbolic
“I am leaving this legacy to all of you...to bring peace, justice, equality, love and a fulfillment of what our lives should be. Without vision, the people will perish, and without courage and inspiration, dreams will die the dream of freedom and peace.”
-Rosa Parks
The passing of Rosa Parks, a national and human hero has led to a reflection on the massive impact that she had in the struggle toward human equality. Last Thursday, a commemoration and remembrance of her entire life took place, leading to reflection and discussion on what her actions meant to the U.S.
Rosa Parks was more than just a seamstress whose tired feet led her to not give up her bus seat one day, as the media has cast her. When she said that she was tired, she was referring to something much greater than physical fatigue; she was tired of the systems of power and injustice which she faced every day and which the U.S. still lives with today.
Also, her role as a youth instructor within the NAACP as well as a lifetime of anti-racism is often left out of the complex and inspiring story of her life leading up to her brave decision. Her contribution to the struggle toward human rights did not end on Dec. 1, 1955. For nearly fifty years afterward, she never gave up the struggle, even in the face of death. Her courage and persistence are an inspiration to everyone involved in the struggle toward equality and human rights in the U.S.
Her brave decision to stay seated was not an isolated event, but was part of a greater movement toward justice and equality which is still being waged today. Describing her decision to stay seated as well as her journey in life which she never abandoned, she said “I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear...”
Parks was not the first nor the only person to stay seated in segregated transportation; in the mid 1800s, Sojourner Truth refused to give up her seat in a segregated train car in New England. Also, not long before Dec. 1, many more people had refused to give up their seats. It is also important to not only look at her as a brave individual, but also to acknowledge the collective coming together of people fed up with the system that led to the bus boycotts in Montgomery, Alabama, and which was connected to a national movement still struggling toward true equality.
Posted by msveum at December 6, 2005 11:39 AM
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