Rosa Parks, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
It’s sad to think
of the atrocities this nation has transgressed against itself, grievous
violations of civil rights against those of a different ancestry. This nation is so great, but its past
is jaded. People speak of a once
faded glory this nation was capable of, but look around us. Look at the freedoms we have. Now more so than any other time in this
nation’s history, have we had more freedom. This nation should represent freedom, not democracy. It is so easy to forget that.
That
being said as generations come and pass, it is easy for us to forget from where
we came. I hope this isn’t
misrepresented, but the civil rights movement, means nothing to me. I don’t mean that to come across in the
wrong light, but my generation hasn’t had to grow with this racial
discrimination. Sure there is
prejudice in my time, but nothing on the scale of the Fifties and Sixties. This past winter, I spoke with one of
my co-workers, a man of color, I asked him if he was going to do anything for
Martin Luther King Day he remarked. “Martin didn’t do nothing for me.”
When
I think of the Civil Rights movement, the name Martin Luther stands out from
the rest. He stands above Malcolm
X. Although both men fought for
the rights of their people, their methods couldn’t be any further apart. It is hard for us to remember, that
before these men were great, they were people like you and I. They were, they are ordinary people who
stood for extraordinary ideals.
Although no less important, numerous other stand in their shadow. Rosa Parks, a simple seamstress, with
her desire to sit in the front of the bus would be an igniting spark in the
Civil Rights movement.
The
truth behind the Rosa Parks story is... Well like the rest of history shrouded
behind the veil of… Well you’ll see. Mrs. Parks was in fact quite well educated for her time but
couldn’t find a job to complement her skills. In December of 1955, Rosa sat in the 5th row on
the bus, the first rows in which blacks where aloud to sit. When she refused to vacate her seat to
a white she was arrested. E.D.
Nixon of the NAACP chose to represent Rosa Parks. On the night before her trail,
Jo Ann Robinson put plans together for bus-boycott.
No
one expected the boycott to last for very long, it seems no one ever does… As
the boycott dragged on it was met with animosity. Any cab driver caught charging less than 45 cents would be
prosecuted. Many black cab
drivers, had been charging the same as the bus fare. But they met this animosity with ingenuity. They organized a personal taxi and
moved with, precision. Like all
things it seems, the battle for equality, would seemingly be settled over the
economy. The bus boycotts had cost
Montgomery’s businesses thousands, but blacks refused to end the boycott. As a result of this boycott Judge Rives
asked, ”Is it fair to command one man to surrender his constitutional rights…
in order to prevent another man from committing a crime?”
I
think the Judge hit the nail on the head, to turn a phrase. I should think that the “Separate but
equal” clause was one of the worst decisions ever made by this country. Things were indeed separate but they
were far from equal. Looking back
it’s easy to fall into the trap of how such a notion ever came to pass, in the
same manner it’s easy to fall into the trap of hindsight. We have the benefit of the doubt. It would be easy to chalk it up to,
that’s just the way it was. How
did this ever become acceptable behavior?
Inequality, slavery these are, our burdens to bear. All of us, not just whites or blacks,
privileged or unprivileged. It’s
our duty to look back and say, “this is wrong.” A once great man said for “evil to prevail, a good man
mustn’t act.” It’s saddening to
think only a few generations removed that the deeds of Dr Martin Luther King
Jr. have already began to fade.
Although my co-worker hasn’t had to face the same atrocities as his fore
fathers, surly he must’ve been down playing the importance of King. His mother and father must’ve lived
through these times of civil unrest.
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