RACHEL JOHNSON
Perspectives Assistant
There’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Veteran’s Day. There’s President’s Day and Labor Day. In my hometown of Chicago, there even used to be a Casimir Pulaski Day, celebrating the life of a Polish Revolutionary War cavalry officer.
But we have forgotten to institute a day in celebration of a life that changed the course of American history. We have forgotten to create a Rosa Parks Day.
Civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks died Oct. 24 at 92 of natural causes.
It’s not her funeral that the American public will remember. Rather, it is the courageous life she led that will be embedded in our minds forever.
It was 1955. Parks was 42. Jim Crowe laws had been put in place during the post-Civil War Reconstruction period. These laws required separation of races in buses, restaurants and public accommodations throughout the South. Additionally, legally sanctioned racial and ethnic discrimination kept blacks out of many neighborhoods and jobs in the North.
A seamstress from Montgomery, Ala., Parks was not of high social status. Being black only reinforced society’s perception of her as one of the lowest rungs of the societal ladder. Regardless of degrading stereotypes, Parks became active in the local chapter of the NAACP to better the lives of blacks.
Dec. 1, 1955, remains a day that changed the course of history for blacks in the United States. Parks was riding on a city bus when a white man demanded her seat. Despite her knowledge of laws that required blacks to give their seats to whites, Parks refused. As a result, she was jailed and fined $14.
Parks’ act of defiance emboldened members of the black community. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was becoming an influential leader during this time, organized a 381-day boycott of the bus system. Adopting the name of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the event marked the start of the modern civil rights movement.
In a speech given in 1992, Parks said that “the real reason of my not standing up was I felt that I had a right to be treated as any other passenger. We had endured that kind of treatment for too long.”
Because of threats and harassment, Parks and her husband, Raymond, moved to Detroit in 1957. Her efforts while working as an aide in the Detroit office of U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D – Mich.) from 1965 until 1988 made her a revered figure in the city.
Parks retired from her job with Conyers to devote more time to the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development. The institute, created in 1987, is dedicated to developing leadership among Detroit’s youth while simultaneously incorporating them into the struggle for civil rights.
She remained active in the ‘90s by publishing numerous books, including “Rosa Parks: My Story.” She received numerous awards, most notably the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999.
Lists of accolades, awards and accomplishments would take hours to write. This is a call to lift up the life of a woman whose bravery forever changed the course of American history.
Not only did Parks’ actions set fuel to the civil rights fire, but her involvement in individuals’ lives later on in life greatly impacted many as well.
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick told MSNBC.com on Oct. 25 that he felt a personal connection with the civil rights icon: “She stood up by sitting down. I’m only standing here because of her.”
In the scheme of things, refusing to give up a seat on the bus could pass unnoticed. In the case of Parks, however, her action was of epic proportions. She gave others the chance to have freedom and opportunities through her willingness to deny herself of these same privileges.
At a celebration in her honor in, Parks said, “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.”
Undoubtedly, her legacy will live on eternally. We don’t just need a specific day to celebrate the courage of Rosa Parks. We should all live each day of our lives in remembrance of her bravery.
11-10-2005