She will be forever known as the quiet iconic woman whose one simple act of defiance helped spawn one of the most active and effective social movements in history. Yet Rosa Parks, ironically, was not the small symbol of silent rebellion that most make her out to be. Before her legendary act of civil disobedience on a Montgomery, Ala., city bus in 1955, Parks had already been quite active in civil protest. As the secretary of the NAACP, she refused several times to comply with bus segregation rules, and twice organized attempts by NAACP members to borrow books from white libraries. She took her bus ordinance case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court (where the ordinance was overturned), and then continued to quietly advocate for African-American rights in the segregated South. As we honor Rosa Parks, we do not celebrate a spontaneous protest by a casual seamstress-turned-national hero, but a bold, courageous move by a tenacious and cunning leader whose heroism was established before she even boarded that Alabama bus. Debunking this myth is vital in the historical context of the civil rights movement — whose most pivotal moments were not incidental uprisings by random individuals, but tactical protests and events systematically planned by dedicated revolutionaries.
The nation seemed to be at a fitting standstill during Rosa Parks' funeral last Wednesday. Thousands lined up to view her body in what proved to be her final honor — having her coffin on display in the Capitol Rotunda, a tribute primarily reserved for American presidents. Passionate and tearful memorials were held across the nation and flags were flown at half-mast, as citizens remembered how the symbolic courage of one epitomized the audacious bravery of many. Her death at age 92 serves as a societal checkpoint in America's quest for civil equality. As a permanent icon of our nation's most notorious internal struggle, it does not do Rosa Parks justice to reflect on her influences in complete and jubilant celebration.
Fifty years after a petite black woman challenged our nation's segregation laws, we are still living in a hostile culture consumed with intolerance and torn apart by apathy. Racial division still exists in America. The economic disparities between black and white remain clear today, as evidenced in the devastation following last month's assault of hurricanes on the Gulf Coast. Social segregation, though no longer mandated by law, still undermines a national culture that claims to be rich in diversity. One need only to look around this campus — at the library, in restaurants, within groups of friends walking to class — to see the palpable lack of interaction between races, subconscious discrimination in which we are all complicit. Grievances remaining from centuries of slavery and oppression have yet to be addressed by an unsympathetic society that feels no responsibility for the shameful actions of its ancestors. Controversial social welfare and affirmative action programs, attempting to remedy centuries of disillusionment, deprival, and injustice, continue to be disputed by those arrogant enough to believe that today's playing field is even.
As we remember Rosa Parks, we rightfully acknowledge how far we have come in the pursuit of civil justice, and the leaders that have gotten us to this point. But we also remember that this country's fight for equality is far from over — not just in combating racism, but in addressing its more recently inflamed alter egos — including post-Sept. 11, 2001, anti-Arab xenophobia and deep-seeded anti-gay sentiment. African-Americans are not the only victims of intolerance today, and equal rights will only be "equal" when shared by everyone — regardless of race, national origin, gender, or sexual preference.
We would like to believe that one person can change the world. But without leaders willing to continue the fight that kept Parks from giving up her seat on that Montgomery bus fifty years ago, discrimination and division will continue to tear at the social fabric of our communities. We, as college students, must be especially aware of this — for it was the nation's youth in particular to whom Parks preached activism and civil integrity. To her, young people possessed all the tools necessary to instigate real change.
Reflecting on her famous actions, Rosa said, "The only thing that bothered me was that we waited so long to make this protest, and to let it be known wherever we go that all of us should be free and equal, and have all the opportunities that others should have." As neoconservatives on Capitol Hill attempt to disregard affirmative action and social welfare programs as "hand outs," as state and national politicians endorse discriminatory proposals dictating who one can and cannot marry, as homeland defense "experts" continue to justify racial profiling as a socially acceptable and bureaucratically effective security measure, the memory of Rosa Parks demands we ask ourselves: what are we waiting for?
Adam Lichtenheld ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in political science and African studies.
