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."