Monday, October 24, 2005

Rest easy, Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks, a black seamstress whose refusal to relinquish her seat to a white man on a city bus in Montgomery, Ala., almost 50 years ago grew into a mythic event that helped touch off the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, died at her home yesterday in Detroit. She was 92 years old.

Read The New York Times' coverage.

As the history of American movements is written -- not from just a few years' perspective but from decades or generations of perspective -- there will be a benchmark from the winter of 1955, a benchmark that sparked a revolution and symbolized a movement. Rosa Parks and her act of bravery, of defiance, of initiative have come to be the epitome of standing up for what is right.

When she sat on the bus in an area reserved for whites, she showed that the actions of one person can make a difference. A small act created a rallying point, and people acted.

Who has picked up the torch created by the spark from Rosa Parks? What is the segregated bus of today? What is the movement that people will join? Those are tough questions with no easy answers. Tomorrow is the time for answering. Today is the day to honor Rosa Parks, whose simple act of defiance sparked a movement.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is completely random, but if you've never seen pictures of Bush compared to chimps, follow this link. I'm no Bush-hater, but I found these absolutely hilarious.

http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/images/blbushchimplookalikes.htm

Anonymous said...

Loganite, post something new. This has to be one of your longest droughts ever. I thirst for your knowledge and wisdom.