We are celebrating Rosa Parks today and the remarkable chain of events she set into motion on this day in 1955 when she refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man. It's not called Rosa Parks Day, but it should be. We are coining the term and will honor it every December 1st.
Rosa Parks wasn't a hero that day. A seamstress, she was an over-worked, under-appreciated blue collar worker, who after spending her entire day on her feet doing her job just wanted to sit the fuck down and catch a ride home to make dinner and get some sleep before doing it all over again. She had no idea at the time that she was the catalyst, the very straw that broke the camel's back and would be the hero saviour of the Civil Rights Movement.
The South of Not-So-Long-Ago or Old was heaven and hell. Amongst the genteel facade, mint juleps and wide verandas, there were many brutal acts against blacks happening every day. After slavery ended the venomous attitude of the white men (and women) got so much worse. They just couldn't believe that blacks were allowed to wander around in the free and clear messing up the scenery, taking jobs and just being there. They enacted Jim Crow laws and created segregation to compensate for the uppity black folk who dared be born below the Mason-Dixon line. The KKK was born and lynchings became a common thing. Years of this built up and built up until that fateful day on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama.
And yes, Rosa Parks IS A HERO. God bless her tired feet and her sick and tired of this bullshit attitude. Her act of rebellion encouraged Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. to ride to the rescue, the Montgomery bus boycott got underway and after alot more trials and tribulations segregation was ENDED. Hallelujah!
We remember this day as one of the most important days in all of American history. In fact, it might be THE most important day in modern times. And Rosa Parks? She is undoubtedly, without question, one of the most admirable, honorable, important, inspirational, iconoclastic, and beloved Americans of all time. She is the Ultimate Role Model. Her beautiful, strong soul lives on as long as we remember to question authority and always stand up for what is right and for those who cannot fend for themselves.
Rosa Parks Museum
It's amazing how one thing ,one little step you take could make a BIG difference even in american history.
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