Rosa Parks: “Mother Of The Civil Rights Movement”

By Rupert Johnson

It is quite fitting that we should remember the remarkable and incomparable achievement of Rosa Louise McCauley Parks during Black History Month since February 4 marked the 100th anniversary of her birthday.

In my research about the trials, tribulations, and accomplishments of women of African ancestry, none has stirred my admiration more than Rosa Parks. There is no doubt that the name of this quintessential African-American woman has become synonymous with strength, and unwavering courage.

December 1, 1955 should be revered as a turning point in the history of African-Americans; for on this eventual day Rosa Parks defied the unjust law of segregation and discrimination by refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama.

It may be said that her defiant action ignited the consciousness of Black people in America and other parts of the world.

It was not surprising that she was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and breach of the city ordinance. However, this punitive act did not deter Rosa from triggering a widespread bus boycott in Montgomery that lasted for 381 days.

Finally the powers that be had to take note and act expeditiously. There is no doubt that Rosa Parks’ bravery led to a historic ruling by the U.S. Supreme that prohibited segregation on buses. This ruling was indeed the harbinger of the 1964 Civil Rights Act that outlawed segregation and discrimination in the public arena.

It may truly be said that Rosa’s act of defiance also precipitated the passing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 which allowed many Blacks to cast their ballots for the first time.

It is, therefore, not surprising that she has been looked upon as the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement” in America.

Contrary to popular belief Rosa Parks did not refuse to vacate her bus seat because she was exhausted. From her own account, the refusal to comply with the bus driver’s order was a deliberate act of defiance against the unjust dictates of Jim Crow. Rosa stated unequivocally: “People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn’t true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me of being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”

Rosa Parks certainly knew what she was doing and was not afraid to take a stand. She knew the bus driver would harass her, and the police would arrest her, but she was prepared to go to jail for her firm belief in social justice.

This stalwart of a woman paid a heavy price for her courageous stand as a Civil Rights activist in that she lost her job at the department store in Montgomery. And she suffered a great deed of economic deprivation and persecution during her lifetime. But these troubling conditions did not deter her from championing the fight against injustice. Thus, she will always be remembered as an incomparable trail-blazer in the Black community.

Rupert Johnson can be reached at: r.b.johnson@sympatico.ca.