A Timely Remembrance Of Rosa Parks
By Dr. Marciene Mattleman
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - On December 1, 1955, a 42-year-old African American seamstress, Rosa Parks, boarded a Montgomery city bus as she left work. She sat behind the rows reserved for whites; but when those places were occupied, a white man came in and insisted she give up her seat.
Rosa, a member of the NAACP, refused spontaneously, was arrested and convicted of violating the laws of segregation, known as the Jim Crow laws. What her action sparked was a boycott, led by a young Baptist minister, Martin Luther King, Jr., lasting 381 days.
The following December, the US Supreme Court ruled that segregation laws were unconstitutional and Montgomery buses were integrated.
The boycott began an era of non-violent mass protests supporting civil rights and it is an example in our history of one courageous person making a difference.
This December remember Rosa Parks and her resolve as we fight bullies and acts of injustice in our immediate surroundings.