Rosa Parks — Women and Hero
What Comes First? Courage or Community?
What Comes First? Courage or Community?
Rosa Parks I remember being taught in school, “Oh Rosa Parks, yeah she’s the one that sat at the front of the bus.” I later learned that she sat in the middle of the bus, in an area that was for anyone, black or white. She got arrested because she refused to give up her seat to one white man that was standing. She was within her rights to sit where she did. However, as a matter of principle and being sick and tired of the treatment of blacks, she stayed put. And the white bus driver and passenger also felt within their rights, to make her leave her seat.
Parks was not the first woman, or black person in the south to stand up to the whites and challenge segregation. Personally, I still cannot believe segregation was law in our country and it hasn’t been that long since President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, outlawing it.
This is the moment that civil rights changed and no one knew it. This is why Rosa Parks is a hero, a figure of change for black people. Why her life, story and stance mattered so much, I’ll show you how She changed our country for the better.
The date this took place: December 1, 1955.
Arrested, she called her parents to get her out. Imagine for a moment being in a place you call home and there are people that are willing to arrest you, hurt you or even kill you for being a different color. I don’t pretend to know the struggles of black Americans in the 1950’s through today. However, if you aren’t black and you’re reading this, I wanted to try and set the tone. Panicked and nervous she wanted out of jail. Her mother called a man named E.D. Nixon who used to be the head of the Montgomery NAACP and he then called Rosa Park’s husband to see how they could get her bailed out, asap.
Parks was a staple in her community. Loving, generous and always willing to help anyone. She was also a talented seamstress for white families. Her husband remembered that one of her “customers” was a man named Clifford Durr, a powerful lawyer in the area. Nixon and Durr got her out and with that they saw an opportunity to use Parks and her story, to attack the segregation laws. Being the brave woman she was, Parks agreed. Thinking some good would come from this.
What made Parks so impactful is her connection to others in the community. People she sat next to at church, the women she would knit blankets with for the local hospital, her volunteer work and for being a women of service. Her husband used to always kid around saying that she ate more outside their home than at home. The strong ties in the community, her standing up for what everyone thought was right made Rosa Parks the hero for black people. Plenty may have wanted to defend their rights as people, but few did. Not just in the south, but all over our country. Civil rights has permanently changed because of her example.
The underlying strength from her story is community. At its core this is what separated Parks from others. Her being heavily involved made others feel obligated to step in for her and because of her. Even with the fear of prosecution, arrest and being killed. The day after Parks was released from jail, E.D. Nixon, the former head of the Montgomery NAACP called the new minister in town, Martin Luther King, Jr., who arrived in Montgomery just one year prior. Still trying to figure out his new home and his role in it, King did not know how he could help and wanted to think about it. Ultimately, King decided to help, perhaps from the multiple influences pushing him in that direction. This very moment with Parks could have been what ignited the fire in King. Persistence led Nixon to call others close to King in order to persuade him and he agreed to help. King rallied the church community together and used his church for private meetings. They decided on how to protest and build their boycotts. They started first by boycotting the bus lines. The community reached out to each other through flyers and private messages. They supported each other and decided that together, they could and would make a difference. The boycott worked! The bus lines were nearly empty with no blacks on board. Hitting the bus liners right where it hurts, in their pockets with lost revenue. Rosa Parks was found guilty of violating the laws at the time and more than 500 hundred black Americans were at the courthouse. They awaited the verdict and in support of Parks demonstrated a rally. In less than 5 days an entire community was ignited, linked together, for a cause bigger than themselves.
Community. It takes a village. To have courage, to stand up for something, especially when it’s bigger than you. Imagine what this meant for them all? It’s either we stand for ourselves or no one will. At this time, blacks simply accepted the reality they lived in. Never challenging, never questioning and never thinking better was possible. Obviously King’s role in this is not dormant. In fact, King was the symbol of peace, love and faith. Being calm before a riot started and the reason it ended, with everyone peacefully walking home.
June 5, 1956, federal judges ruled that the Montgomery bus segregation law violated the constitution. The city appealed that ruling at the Supreme Court and it was denied.
There are many things that we can credit this change to. Laws set in place and people acting in courage. None of them are possible without a community to lean on. Think of it this way, have you been through something tragic? Loss of a spouse, child or loved one? If you have been surrounded by loved ones at this time for support, love, comfort and dependence, you know in part the feeling. While not the same it does overlap some.
The lesson here is to have a community to love, count on and support each other. You cannot rely on anyone, except yourself and the person standing or sitting next to you. We cannot do it alone. Courage is contagious and it has the ability to change everything.
(The history books got it wrong. This is why I disliked history classes of any kind growing up and even in college. My personal opinion is that the material is demonstrated by what the teacher/professor aligns with. If you have a black teacher their lessons on slavery and the impact of black people in America will be different from let’s say a white collegues. Naturally these differences exist. However, what shouldn’t exist is history being taught with dates and memorization of what are often insignificant facts. For example, who fought in the Spanish-American War…? People who are clueless about history get together in a room and discuss how our children will learn the facts of our country or how students at universities will interact with it.)
Dan Roman is a Husband, Father, and writer that releases a daily blog. A quick read on money, marriage, parenting, self-improvement, development and his thoughts. Dan is also Founder/Creator of Roman Solutions, a Personal Finance Firm that currently provides coaching and education.
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