Rosa Parks, Boycott Marked 55 Years Later

A JetBlue captain later identified as Clayton Osbon is removed from one of the airline's planes March 28, 2012, in Amarillo, Texas. / Steve Miller/The Reporter's Edge

From a controversial Google doodle to panel discussion with civil rights leaders, various groups across the nation Wednesday celebrated the 55th anniversary of Rosa Parks' refusal to give her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus to a white passenger.

On Dec. 1, 1955, Parks, who died in 2005, sparked the famous Montgomery bus boycott led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. when she defied the Jim Crow law that required black passengers to move to the back of public buses to accommodate whites.

(Scroll down to watch Rosa Parks' obituary from 2005)

Parks was arrested for refusing to move. The subsequent boycott lasted for 381 days before the Supreme Court eventually ruled the Alabama law unconstitutional.

Google marked the anniversary by integrating its logo into a drawing of black and white children exiting a classic-looking bus.

However, the gesture has drawn some criticism. The Washington Post World AIDS Day, which is also celebrated Dec. 1. (The Post notes Google has partnered with AIDS organization (Red) to redden a Google Map of the world as more people publish updates on Twitter with the hashtag #turnred.)

Also on the Web, the Smithsonian Institution marked Parks' anniversary by displaying on its website a photo of the dress she was working on at the time, noting Parks worked as a seamstress at the Montgomery Fair department store before her entry into the history books. The dress, which Parks intended for personal use, is not on display at the Smithsonian's museums.

In Montgomery, baseball legend Hank Aaron, Martin Luther King III and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., were scheduled to participate in panel discussions during the week to commemorate the anniversary. Tony-award winning actress and playwright Sarah Jones held a benefit concert at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival for the Rosa Parks Museum Monday night, CBS News affiliate WAKA-TV in Montgomery reported.

[saberfox]

And Kev,this article is on one of the largest news sources, available internationally with links to Facebook, twitter, etc.... Yet only has 2 people commenting on it after a week(and one of them is opposed). Regardless of all the media hype saying otherwise, this fact alone should make it clear to you that Rosa and the boycott is considered as an unimportant event, if even considered at all.

[saberfox]

It is not BS; it was the law, and she violated it. The boycott itself was unsucessful as it fulfilled the desires of the majority of the people, which is total segragation. It was the Supreme Court legislating from the bench that overturned the law. Rosa is nothing more than a poster child. Other than the naacp, I have not known anyone to acknowledge her as a "hero", White or black.
Secondly, I prefer it to be called a robe rather than an "outfit". Your "race card" has no value at my table

[saberfox]

Rosa Parks was in violation of the law enacted by the people, in which she is (was) a criminal rather than a hero. She also caused the declaration of a boycott, which is also a crime. The Supreme Court decision is just another example of judges legislating their own beliefs from the bench rather than upholding the laws enacted by the citizens.
to Kevjustice; As far as the case of Emmett Till, Rape is not flirting.

[kevjustice]

bs and you know it! how many klan outfits do you have in your closet. rosa was a hero to most americans white and black.

[kevjustice]

one person who should be given(posthumously) the presidential medal of freedom is emmett till. a black 14 year old "flirted" with a white woman in 1955 mississippi and was tortured(teeth knocked out with a hammer, eye gouged out, etc.)by a group of white men then killed. his death also contributed to the civil right's movement.