"Are you going to stand up?" the bus driver asked.
"No," Parks answered.
"Well, by God, I'm going to have you arrested," the driver said.
"You may do that," Parks responded.
This was the conversation that transpired on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama on December 1, 1955, when Rosa Parks would not give up her seat to a white man. She recalled that her defiance was partly due to her feet being sore, and partly because she felt "that [she] had a right to be treated as any other passenger. We had endured that kind of treatment for too long."
In the early 1990's, I had the opportunity to hear Rosa Parks, "the mother of the Civil Rights Movement," speak at Brigham Young University. I fondly recall that the auditorium of 350-plus seats were filled and students lined the walls and sat in the aisles and on the steps to the podium. When she entered with her entourage and the university dignitaries, the audience stood and cheered for minutes.
I was greatly impressed by her lecture and comments afterward. Growing up in Utah, I had never heard of Rosa Parks or that fateful bus ride. I was impressed that this woman of such a small stature and quiet voice had the courage to refuse to move off of her seat. More so, however, I was impressed with her current mission to speak out on bettering human rights.
Ever since 1955, she said, she has raised her voice against sexism and racism in our societies. Her message for us was powerful and came across in a most sincere manner. Her hope in humankind, likewise, was not only endearing but larger than life. "I hope we are on the road to progress," she said.
And when she used the phrase "we," it didn’t come across as preachy; nor did she seem to be exalting herself, her accomplishments, or mission. Rather, I sensed she included herself in the great human equation for the balance of equality. It was not a "you" or "I" but a "we" as a university, a community, a society, a people, a state, a nation, a continent, and a world.
Change can only happen if "we" work together to create that better place, a place not only free from racism, but of sexism, where we enjoy honest relationships, respect for one another, and enjoy each other without fear. That’s how I interpreted her message that day.
Indeed, when I think back on that frail, 80-year-old Rosa Parks, I see her cuddled under her warm shawl she had slung about her thin shoulders; I hear her warm, soft voice speaking in the tongue of Martin Luther King, Jr., urging us on to peaceful action; and I remember being blinded by that gleam in her eyes that broadcast her ever-living hope in humanity.
Life creates legends, symbols that represent what we can be. Today, we see the passing of such a legend. I hope her vision and quiet courage lingers here.
*****
Here are more highlights on the life of Rosa Parks, excerpts from the Associated Press:
Her arrest triggered a 381-day boycott of the bus system organized by a then little-known Baptist minister, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who later earned the Nobel Peace Prize for his work.
"At the time I was arrested I had no idea it would turn into this," Mrs. Parks said 30 years later. "It was just a day like any other day. The only thing that made it significant was that the masses of the people joined in."
The Montgomery bus boycott, which came one year after the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark declaration that separate schools for blacks and whites were "inherently unequal," marked the start of the modern civil rights movement.
The movement culminated in the 1964 federal Civil Rights Act, which banned racial discrimination in public accommodations. ....
"Rosa Parks: My Story" was published in February 1992. In 1994 she brought out "Quiet Strength: The Faith, the Hope and the Heart of a Woman Who Changed a Nation," and in 1996 a collection of letters called "Dear Mrs. Parks: A Dialogue With Today's Youth."
She was among the civil rights leaders who addressed the Million Man March in October 1995.
In 1996, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded to civilians making outstanding contributions to American life. In 1999, she was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation's highest civilian honor.
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