Rosa Parks

“People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired…the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.’

 

Rosa Parks (1913-2005) has righly been known as the ‘first lady of civil rights’ and ‘the mother of the freedom movement’. She is so well known that I almost didn’t wanna do a post about her because there are so many women who’s stories have been lost in history. But then I remembered that she’s famous for a reason and that what she accomplished should not be diminished. Parks was involved in activism long before her most reknowned moment. She worked alongside her husband campaigning for black enfranchisement, and was also involved in investigations into attacks on black men and women (including Recy Taylor, see yesterday’s post).

In order to know why her famous refusal to sit it’s important to know the background. Since 1900, the Montgomery Bus Laws required that bus seating be segrated by colour, with blacks having to give up their seats when the “white section” was full. The “coloured section” was always noticeably smaller anyway, despite the fact that 75% of riders were black. The injustice of this was felt by the black community from the very beginning. Parks said:  "My resisting being mistreated on the bus did not begin with that particular arrest. I did a lot of walking in Montgomery."

On December 1st 1955, Parks boarded a bus and sat in the “coloured section”. Having had a previous run in with the driver, James Blake, perhaps it was fated that this would become the most significant day of her life. When the “white section” filled up, Blake ordered her and three other black passengers to give up their seats for the whites who were standing. While the three others moved, Rosa Parks refused, moving only closer to the window. When threatened with arrest if she did not comply, she simply said “you may do that”, and stayed where she was. As she was arrested, she asked the officer "Why do you push us around?", and he replied: "I don't know, but the law's the law.’ She later said, "I only knew that, as I was being arrested, that it was the very last time that I would ever ride in humiliation of this kind.’ Parks was charged with a violation of Chapter 6, Section 11 segregation law of the Montgomery City code, although technically she had not taken a white-only seat; she had been in a colored section. Parks was charged with disorderly conducted and fined, but appealed her convinction and formally challenged the legality of racial segregation. While others had previously been arrested for not giving up their seats, Parks’ bravery sparked the “Montogomery bus boycott” – when the black community refused to ride the city’s buses - which became a seminal moment in the civil rights movement.

Despite becoming an icon, Parks suffered many harships for the rest of her life. Economic sanctions forced her out of work, and her husband also quit his job in defence of his wife. She frequently received death threats. Throughout the sixties, Parks was an active activist, particularly concerned with housing issues. She often interacted with other icons of the movement including Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. In 1967, she helped raise awareness of police brutality after the killing of three young black men by police during a riot. She withdrew from activism in the 1970s owing to tragic personal losses and illness. However, in the 80s and 90s, she returned to activism and dedicated her life to educating the youth and raising awareness of women’s issues like family planning.

She died of natural causes in 2005, financially, physically, and mentally diminished. However, her legacy is immense and she has received numerous post-humous awards, recognitions, and honours. She has been frequently praised by US Presidents including Obama and Bush, and she remains an ever prominent figure in pop cultural. Parks’ bravery and determination to fight institutional injustice remains as inspiring and admirable 60 years later. As the famous saying goes: “If Rosa Parks had sat down, Martin Luther King would never have stood up”.