RP, R.I.P.

Rosa Parks passed away this evening in Detroit at the age of 92. Mrs. Parks played a large part in causing a re-birth of the Civil Rights movement in the southern U.S., launching the career of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and starting the ball rolling toward the end of legal segregation in America.

There is a lot of mythology surrounding Mrs. Parks and what exactly happened on that bus in Montgomery, AL. The popular account is that Rosa courageously sat in the white section of the segregated bus, but that was not the case. In actual fact, she was sitting in the "colored" section in the back. However, she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger, which she was obligated to do when the "white" section was full. She defiantly refused, faced the legal consequences, and a new movement arose. But Mrs. Parks was not even the first African American to refuse to give up a seat on a Montgomery bus. For some time, the NAACP wanted to try a test case, but couldn't find a suitable candidate who could hold up under the spotlight of a high profile trial - much like Branch Rickey's attempt to break the colour barrier in baseball. Mrs. Parks, herself employed years earlier as a secretary with the NAACP and still an active member, was chosen for the test case, and the rest is history. As the face of the struggle, she was the personification of grace and class, and nobody could have handled that kind of pressure any better. But Rosa paid a personal price for her notoriety, losing her job and being compelled to move out of Alabama and north to Detroit. Happily, she ended up working for another true American hero, John Conyers.

1955 was just twelve years before I was born. It blows my mind that as recently as that, there was still segregation in America based on the colour of people's skin. (In fact, such segregation didn't really end until the Civil Rights Act of 1964.) It goes to show you that it's impossible to simply dismiss matters of race out of hand and state, triumphantly, that those days have long passed. If only it could be that simple. I have no great wisdom on the topic, just admiration for the woman who took a stand by remaining seated. In an age of chickenhawks and do-nothing naysayers, we should all remember somebody who made a real contribution to her country's betterment.