Rosa Parks

If I had to pick one way to change the world, if there was only one thing I could do, I would eliminate prejudice and bigotry, and ensure equal rights for all people. Period. That people are so ignorant, and so stupid that they can judge others based on factors which are randomly assigned by the universe, rather than the quality of one’s character, just baffles me.

When I heard yesterday that Rosa Parks died, I wanted to write something about it, but I couldn’t find the words. It’s hard to imagine what her world was like way back in 1955, especially since 99% of the people who have the ability to read this blog will probably never know a life a billionth as challenging as hers — and none of us are going to make one tenth of the difference she made. So what could I say that would matter?

Crooks & Liars managed to say it for me:

Try to imagine
yourself as Rosa Parks did when she left work that day in
1955. Exhausted from working long hours in the department store, she
looked to take a seat like always; but making sure she sat in the right
section of that bus at the risk of being handcuffed. You can’t-can you?
It took this incredible woman to refuse to give up her seat to a white
man on that bus to change the course of American history.

Think about that, and honor her legacy whenever you can. I challenge you all to make a difference, in some positive way, in someone’s life today. And tomorrow. And the day after that . . .

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29 thoughts on “Rosa Parks”

  1. I think it is amazing that this small moral action helped create a revolution in racial relations. It makes you think about the little moral decisions that come up everyday for all of us and how important it is to do the right thing.

  3. I too am sad to hear that Rosa Parks passed away. I am thankful that she didn’t give up her seat on the bus depsite the penalty. We should follow her example, as well as try to stop racism.

  4. I’ve oft wondered over the years if Ms. Parks kept her seat due to courage mostly; or was it due simply to anger.
    Anger over inequality.
    Anger over one ridiculous injustice after another.
    Anger over a homeland that purports “freedom and justice for all”, yet practiced “freedom and justice for all as long as you’re white and a male.”
    I have a hard time believing I wouldn’t be quite angry myself.
    Peace…Ooogy

  5. You only get one chance at life, if you can make a difference don’t let it slip by. Recognizing that chance however is a challenge of its own.

  6. I was thinking to day about that white man. Did he want her to get up and move or was it just so much a part of everyday custom that he didn’t even question it when the driver told her to move for him.
    Did he himself ever regret not taking a stand and saying, “stay where you are ma’am, I got on after you did, I can stand.”
    I guess we will never know because those who defend the status quo rarely make the history books.

  7. I also am quite saddened by her death. It is very hard to imagine life back then. It was a very courageous thing that she did. Hope that we all would show the same if ever put into her position.

  9. I was very saddened to hear of Rosa Parks’ death. She was an amazing, courageous woman. If it weren’t for brave souls like Rosa, I may not have been lucky enough to have such a wonderfully, ethnically diverse family and group of friends. I truely consider myself blessed and thankful for people like her. Thank you, Rosa Parks, and thank you, Wil, for paying tribute to her in your blog.

  10. I know the general reaction is to be saddened by her death, but honestly, why? She reached the age of 92 and died peacefully after accomplishing hella good during the second half of her life. Whether you call it courage or anger, her refusal to accept the status quo sparked a dialogue about what it means to be free and equal in America.
    If anything should be mourned, it’s the fact that the Civil Rights movement has stuttered to a halt within the last 20 years or so. To me, that’s the real tragedy, not the passing of a woman who lived a full life.

  12. I agree elementaly. She lived a full, succesful and important live. She should be celebrated and honoured and her passing is of course sad but the real tragedies are when people are taken too young. One can only dream of where the world would be if Marting Luther King Jr. had gotten to live his full life.

  16. She was one of the most courageous people in history. I remember doing a paper about her in school. When I heard she passed away I was alittle sad, but then she did have a full life and she did change history. I also wish the same thing you do Wil. I can’t understand why people have to judge over people, because they are different. Some people don’t want to be like everyone else. Like me, why would I want to be like everyone else, when I can be my own person? May she rest in peace and watch over all of us.

  17. I often wondered who the person was who refused their seat. In case anyone is interested to know, Rosa Parks is mentioned in the lyric’s of Michael Jackson’s song ‘History’. At the end she is spoken about with the Statue of Liberty, collapse of the Berlin Wall and the birth of Martain Luther King. Up there with the best of the History making events. As one of the quotes said ‘Most men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not?’ I think that day, that is what she was thinking.

  18. There was a great article on the New York Times’s web site two days ago about Rosa Parks. It really put everything in perspective for me and had great detail about the reality of that day when she didn’t give up her seat. I am paraphrasing from various quotes from herself and others, but apparently, that bus driver had kicked her off the bus before, she was a 42 year-old hard-working woman, already very active in the NAACP who was just TIRED. Why should she have to move? Another thing I didn’t know is that she was not the first woman to be arrested in Montgomery for not getting up for a white person. But since she was such a respected citizen of Montgomery, her case really made the difference.
    I know the beefs that Wil and others have about http://www.nytimes.com, but I highly recommend checking it out.
    As long as Wil doesn’t mind, here’s the URL to that article.
    http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/25/national/25parks.html?pagewanted=all

  19. Thanks for posting this. My own Grandmother died Monday so I have been to preoccupied to post something about this on my own blog. It seems wierd viewing old pictures of signs stating “white Only”. Here in Canada that kind of segregation seems so surreal.

  20. Thanks for posting this. My own Grandmother died Monday so I have been to preoccupied to post something about this on my own blog. It seems wierd viewing old pictures of signs stating “white Only”. Here in Canada that kind of segregation seems so surreal.

  21. Sorry about the double post…this dumb thing said it didn’t accept my first! Then I went through the trouble of retyping and posting…and taa daa…there’s my first post.
    *forehead meets keyboard*
    *sigh*
    Will be gald when you can go back to the first blog Will!

  22. Being gay and Hispanic and growing up in Florida in the Bible Belt, I have a bit of experience with prejudice. It’s not a pleasant experience to have rocks thrown at you and it can be quite demoralizing to hear how gays and lesbians don’t deserve the rights of marriage that the rest of society has. I remember seeing in a grocery store in Tampa in the 60’s two water fountains side by side, one with a sign over it saying “whites” and the other with a sign saying “coloreds”. Bigotry can be overcome, but it takes people to take a stand in order to change the world.

  23. I’m with elementalv as well. My husband’s grandmother died 2 weeks ago, a day short of 92, and she left on her own terms after a very full life (and one that couldn’t have been more different from Rosa Parks’). It wasn’t easy for the family to say goodbye, of course, but at that age it’s also just natural.
    It is definitely a time to honor and celebrate Rosa Parks, whose example reminds us of how ordinary acts of resistance can bring about great change…what she did was such a significant, yet simple thing to do. Thanks for posting about her, Wil.

  25. This is my first post here and hopefully not my last. This article inspired me. Your words have challenged me to try and do something as positive as Rosa Parks did. Thank you for such a wonderful trip into someone else’s shoes. I will remember and try to do positive things.
    Craig Hindall

  26. The Civil Rights Movement is the most interesting part of our history I believe. I have always been in admiration of Rosa Parks and am glad that she stood up for herself.
    I read an article that said there were two other black women before her who refused to give up their seats on a bus as well, but they weren’t arrested for it. So I guess it was good that she got arrested so it made more people aware of what was going on, and it helped empower the other blacks to go on strike.
    Rest in peace Rosa, you definitely changed the world.

  27. She was angry, and NO ONE messes with an ANGRY BLACK WOMAN. I wish I was a black woman sometimes. I want to know what it’s like to shake that ass. I have no ass. OH well, but I loved your blog and it makes you think. YOu are the best!

  28. She was angry, and NO ONE messes with an ANGRY BLACK WOMAN. I wish I was a black woman sometimes. I want to know what it’s like to shake that ass. I have no ass. OH well, but I loved your blog and it makes you think. YOu are the best!

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