What a monumental figure... and yet, just a passer-by, like any of us. How odd to think that now she's gone...
Posts: 7877 | Registered: Feb 2003
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quote: "Our mistreatment was just not right, and I was tired of it," writes Parks in her recent book, Quiet Strength , (ZondervanPublishingHouse, 1994). "I kept thinking about my mother and my grandparents, and how strong they were. I knew there was a possibility of being mistreated, but an opportunity was being given to me to do what I had asked of others."
The rest of Parks' story is American history...her arrest and trial, a 381-day Montgomery bus boycott, and, finally, the Supreme Court's ruling in November 1956 that segregation on transportation is unconstitutional.
But Parks' personal history has been lost in the retelling. Prior to her arrest, Mrs. Parks had a firm and quiet strength to change things that were unjust. She served as secretary of the NAACP and later Adviser to the NAACP Youth Council, and tried to register to vote on several occasions when it was still nearly impossible to do so. She had run-ins with bus drivers and was evicted from buses. Parks recalls the humiliation: "I didn't want to pay my fare and then go around the back door, because many times, even if you did that, you might not get on the bus at all. They'd probably shut the door, drive off, and leave you standing there."
Forty years later, despite some tremendous gains, Parks feels, "we still have a long way to go in improving the race relations in this country."
Quite a lady. Quite a story. I think I'll go find Quiet Strength to read . . .
quote: On Montgomery buses, the first four rows were reserved for whites. The rear was for blacks, who made up more than 75 percent of the bus system's riders. Blacks could sit in the middle rows until those seats were needed by whites. Then the blacks had to move to seats in the rear, stand or, if there was no room, leave the bus. Even getting on the bus presented hurdles: If whites were already sitting in the front, blacks could board to pay the fare but then they had to disembark and re-enter through the rear door.
and -
quote:Blacks had been arrested, and even killed, for disobeying bus drivers. They had begun to build a case around a 15- year-old girl's arrest in March 1955 for refusing to give up her seat, and Mrs. Parks had been among those raising money for the girl's defense. But when they learned that the teenager was pregnant, they decided that she was an unsuitable symbol for their cause.
Mrs. Parks, on the other hand, was regarded as "one of the finest citizens of Montgomery - not one of the finest Negro citizens - but one of the finest citizens of Montgomery," Dr. King said.
While Mr. Nixon met with lawyers and preachers to plan an assault on the Jim Crow laws, the women's council distributed 35,000 copies of a handbill that urged blacks to boycott the buses on Monday, Dec. 5, the day of Mrs. Parks's trial.
"Don't ride the buses to work, to town, to school, or anywhere on Monday," the leaflet said.
On Sunday, Dec. 4, the announcement was made from many black pulpits, and a front-page article in The Montgomery Advertiser, a black newspapers, further spread the word. Some blacks rode in carpools that Monday. Others rode in black-owned taxis that charged only the bus fare, 10 cents. But most black commuters - 40,000 people - walked, some more than 20 miles, to and from their jobs.
At a church rally that night, blacks unanimously agreed to continue the boycott until these demands were met: that they be treated with courtesy, that black drivers be hired, and that seating in the middle of the bus be used on a first-come basis.
The boycott lasted 381 days, and in that period many blacks were harassed and arrested on flimsy excuses. Churches and houses, including those of Dr. King and Mr. Nixon, were dynamited.
My, that's a different story from what children are traditionally taught in public schools about tired feet and the back of the bus seating . . . I really like the following tidbit:
quote: "When you sat down," one woman told her at a voter registration rally in Brooklyn in 1988, "our people stood up." But Mrs. Parks would say that she hoped only to inspire others, especially young people, "to be dedicated enough to make useful lives for themselves and to help others."
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A life full led should not be mourned but celebrated. What a great lady. I'm only sad that there's one less person of such incredible character in the world. Posts: 4089 | Registered: Apr 2003
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It is sad that she is gone - but you're right - her life and contributions should be celebrated!
Posts: 5609 | Registered: Jan 2003
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I was at a funeral at a Black church once-- I forget the denomination, but it's an almost all Black congregation-- and I noticed that the younger people and white people in attendance mostly wore black, but all the older ladies had on lacy white dresses. I asked the friend I had gone with why, and she explained that her grandma told her she wore white to funerals because "when you die, you go to Heaven, and it's happy for you. We are sad because we miss people who leave, but they are in joy now, and so we wear white to show that we know they're having joy in Heaven right now."
That's kind of how I feel-- she's lived an important life, and fought for the right. I hope she's having peace and joy right now.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I am shocked! She was one of the stories my teachers read to me when I was in elementary. I'll always miss that woman.
Posts: 3389 | Registered: Apr 2004
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My Mom remembers that year. She lived with her Foster Mother in a Black neighborhood in Seattle. In support of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, everyone in her neighborhood quit taking buses and walked.
A beautiful soul, and beautiful person.
Posts: 772 | Registered: Feb 2005
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My mom lived in Montgomery during that time, and didn't realize they were making history. She told me she was so glad for the boycott, because of the things she had witnessed. She said many of the bus drivers were particularly petty and spiteful, amusing themselves by persecuting black people. Many times she saw the drivers, who were all white males, wait while a black lady ran to catch the bus, until she got right up to the door, then slam it in her face and drive off. These would typically be women who had been working all day scrubbing floors or doing other laborious tasks for white people in the area. It was a common thing for work which was particularly unpleasant or laborious to be referred to as "N...-work".
Another thing she saw the drivers do is force black people to stand up in the crowded back of the bus when there were plenty of empty seats in the white section. There were movable signs which could be brought forward or taken back to indicate the boundaries of the black and white sections of the bus. The drivers would refuse to move the signs forward, even though there were plenty of empty seats, and the black riders were crushed into the back. She said it seemed to be a pleasure to the drivers to persecute black riders in every way they could.
Another really interesting tidbit is that mom's maid at the time (most white families in Montgomery then had black servants) showed her a threatening letter to explain why she couldn't ride the bus. Basically it said if you ride the bus you'll be hurt. I wish she'd kept a copy of it. History doesn't always tell the whole story.
The civil rights movement is one of the things I love best about America. Ordinary people can bring about profound change for the better. It's something we should never forget.
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Being Canadian, I didn't even know who she was until this came up in the news. I mean, I know a little bit about the history of the civil rights movement in America, but not a whole lot. In general, my 20th-century history isn't exactly up to snuff -- with the exception of Middle East history.
Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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