Rosa Parks, often called "the Mother of the civil rights movement" died yesterday evening at her home in Detroit. Parks is best known for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man in 1955, sparking a wave of change.


This thread if for anyone to say what they think of her life and legacy, and how important she was to the civil rights movement.

I don't know much about her life. The only thing I can say is that she was an example of how a very simple act of resistance can eventually lead to major changes. That should inspire all of us whenever we feel like "letting things go" in spite of what we believe is fair.

More importantly and in connection is that fact that she was not the first nor that last person to defy such orders. thousands upon thousands of people challenged the racist BS of this country and got nothing but beaten and jailed for it. she just happened to be the lucky one to do such.

"Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God."
--Thomas Jefferson

Rosa Parks was a civil rights worker before she refused to give up her seat on the bus, and it wasn't her refusal that prompted change, it was the subsequent boycott of the Montgomery city bus system by the black community that brought about some changes.

I see your point, Vile - but what she helped prompt that very bus boycott. So if that boycott was the stimulus for the change, then one can defer she played a huge role in providing that means.

Originally posted by Vilepagan
Rosa Parks was a civil rights worker before she refused to give up her seat on the bus, and it wasn't her refusal that prompted change, it was the subsequent boycott of the Montgomery city bus system by the black community that brought about some changes.
Vile, I think you are not giving her enough credit. And if your post is to just make a point and not give credit, but you realize she deserves the credit, then disregard my post. However, since she is dead I find it sad you are trying to make her accomplishments appear not as large and not give credit where credit is dure.

Many people these days think it is not okay that we give her so much credit and you seem to be one of them. However, I think she does deserve all the credit we give her.

Firstly, I don't see how her being a civil rights worker before, makes it any less of a noble move by her (and your post implies that since she was a civil rights worker before this, that it isn't as big of a deal) Sure, she was apart of the NAACP but regardless of that, she still stood up to the idea that blacks had to give up their seats to whites.

And you are correct, she herself didn't make all the changes, but she sparked the movement in so many ways.

The bus incident led to the formation of the Montgomery Improvement Association, led by the young pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The association called for a boycott of the city-owned bus company. The boycott lasted 382 days and brought Mrs. Parks, Dr. King, and their cause to the attention of the world. A Supreme Court Decision struck down the Montgomery ordinance under which Mrs. Parks had been fined, and outlawed racial segregation on public transportation. http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/par0bio-1


She sparked this boycott because this incident lead to the formation of the Association which started the boycott in the first place. Her case was taken to the Supreme Court which ruled in her favor and that then motivated the blacks to keep on boycotting for the Supreme Court ruled in their favor and they finally had a glimpse of hope and the idea that they could actually win since the Supreme Court ruled in their favor. What she did made such a huge difference.

May she rest in peace.

Rosa was a very brave woman. The Blacks back then should have been like the Blacks are today. :hitout:

Originally posted by M&Mdelite
Rosa was a very brave woman. The Blacks back then should have been like the Blacks are today. :hitout: You mean mindlessly belligerent to "whitey"? They were. The only difference is that there were a lot less white apologists/idiots back then who would encourage them to be that way.

Originally posted by Overdose
She sparked this boycott because this incident lead to the formation of the Association which started the boycott in the first place. Her case was taken to the Supreme Court which ruled in her favor and that then motivated the blacks to keep on boycotting for the Supreme Court ruled in their favor and they finally had a glimpse of hope and the idea that they could actually win since the Supreme Court ruled in their favor. What she did made such a huge difference.

May she rest in peace.

The intent of my post was not to detract from what she did in any way. The fact is, I had listened to Mrs. Parks in a recorded interview on NPR that day, and she wanted to stress the fact that she was a civil rights worker before she refused to give up her seat, because many people had assumed she was just some lady on the bus. She also pointed out that the reason she refused to give up her seat was not because she was fed up with a practice that occurred regularly, but because she had never been asked to relinquish her seat (in the colored section of the bus) before, and the bus driver was being a dick about it. She did fine work for many years before and after her bus ride. May she rest in peace indeed.

Originally posted by M&Mdelite
Rosa was a very brave woman. The Blacks back then should have been like the Blacks are today. :hitout:

Indeed Rosa was a brave woman, but let's not pretend that she was the first to offer the same opposition to the institutionalized segregation. She was fortunate to be in the right place and the right to. With all due respect, there are many people who lived lives as unknowns who were just as essential to the civil rights movement.

1913-2005

She was a lady who even in the face of adversity acted like a lady.

The thing is she could have been arrested and molested and no one would have given a dang but the black community. She was not in the right place at the right time.

she was the right person in the right place at the right time.

"We must double and redouble our efforts to try to say to our youth, to try to give them an inspiration, an incentive and the will to study our heritage and to know what it means to be black in America today." Rosa Parks