Remembering Mama Rosa
"People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was
tired but that wasn't true. I was not tired physically, I was
not old . I was 42. No, the only tired I was, was tired of
giving in." -Rosa Parks-
Beneath the lush, golden sky symbolizing Washington, DC, a
nostalgic haze looms across the terrain. On this evening,
thousands wait in line at the Capitol rotunda to view the
remains of Rosa McCauley Parks, the woman dubbed the "Mother of
the Modern Civil Rights Movement" as she lay in state.
Hence, in writing this article, I thought it was only fitting to
pay homage to a woman who displayed courage of the highest
magnitude when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white
man on December 1, 1955. So without further adieu, I present
"Remembering Mama Rosa."
The winds of hate and turbulence seared the heart of the South
in the 50s and 60s. It was a time when Blacks stopped shuffling
to White America's dance of servitude, and created their own
waltz of deliverance from bondage. And the woman spearheading
Blacks to freedom, after centuries of captivity was Rosa Parks.
>From a distance, she appeared to the average person as just
another Black woman. But there was nothing average about this
Alabama native. She was articulate and exceedingly proud, a
woman of regal bearing who had become leery of Alabama's racist
debauchery and wasn't going to take it anymore.
Parks was on the surface a woman who called on love and
vindication to quench the raging fire of discrimination.
Moreover, her stance prompted the Montgomery Bus Boycott and
catapulted Martin Luther King into prominence. By refusing to
give up her seat, Parks stymied the waiting game that had become
a popular stalling tactic among Southern Whites. .
For 400 years Blacks had been told to wait. Wait for justice.
Wait for equality. Wait for the right to be treated with
courtesy and respect. Wait for the right to vote. Wait for the
right to enter the front door of a hotel or restaurant without
being arrested by law enforcement officials. Now the wait was
over, and the Day of Redemption was dawning.
She was our gallant heroine, battling a vicious White
establishment that continued to inflict second-class citizenship
upon its Black citizens. Parks was both a fighter and a civil
rights activist. And the action she displayed 50 years ago,
procured more for Blacks than they were able to attain in four
centuries under the auspices of White dictatorship.
And now after hundreds of awards and thousands of accolades, the
world bids farewell to a woman for whom everyone, regardless of
race, gender and socioeconomic status owe a debt of gratitude.
For it was Mama Rosa that showed a nation of 22,000,000 Blacks
why they could no longer remain buried under the shackles of
oppression. It was Mama Rosa who showed the world that you can
still maintain your dignity, while fighting for your right to be
treated fairly and equally. Lastly, it was Mama Rosa who clearly
demonstrated that women can effectuate great change as much as
any man, proving once again that courage is not limited to the
male species.
Thus, it is not enough to remember Mama Rosa. But we must work
diligently to consummate her goal of justice and equality. As
African- Americans, we are challenged to bring that dream to
fruition. And we can begin by believing in ourselves and using
every available resource to make us a better race, instead of on
that constantly complains and refuses to take advantage of the
wonderful opportunities we have because of this great woman.
Beyond all that, we remember her most poignant creed, hope. For
Mama Rosa never stopped hoping. She never ceased to believe that
the Dream and the Dreamers would prevail. And if she could speak
to us from beyond the grave, she would tell us that nothing can
stop us, if we keep the faith. Hence, her memory lives on, and
so we go forth, bursting with emotion as we say good bye Mama
Rosa, and "may the rustling of the angels lead you to your final
rest."