Is that the lady from the American Civil Rights movement? A lot have people have mentioned her today, and I'm embarrassed to admit to admit I'm not totally sure who she is...
She was the flashpoint of the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott of 1955. In those days, buses were segregated, and people of color had to sit in the back. If a white person got on and their were not seats in *their* section, the *colored* person would have to stand up and let them sit down. She was a member of the Civil Rights movement in Montgomery and she was very tired that day, having worked hard. She decided to make a stand and not give up her seat based on the fact that she was there first. They arrested her, don't remember the charge but it was totally bogus, and it sparked a controversy of mammouth proportions.
The Civil Rights leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King, JR, proposed a bus boycott to protest the segregation of busses and change the policy to first come first served for all. The boycott lasted over a year, and in the end, the bus company and the city government caved and the busses there were no longer segregated. It was a large and small victory at the same time cause all over the south, folks still couldn't eat in the lunchrooms or use a water fountain if they were the wrong *color*...
However, it's generally considered the key event that started the wave of Civil Rights passive resistance demonstrations that lead to many key things that have somewhat improved the lives of people of color in the USA. *shakes head* Still working on it, I'm ashamed to admit. But, it takes nothing away from what Ms. Parks and her comrades accomplished.
Sorry to be so long-winded, but it's an important issue to me!
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(no subject)
10/25/05 11:15 am (UTC)(no subject)
10/25/05 03:30 pm (UTC)The Civil Rights leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King, JR, proposed a bus boycott to protest the segregation of busses and change the policy to first come first served for all. The boycott lasted over a year, and in the end, the bus company and the city government caved and the busses there were no longer segregated. It was a large and small victory at the same time cause all over the south, folks still couldn't eat in the lunchrooms or use a water fountain if they were the wrong *color*...
However, it's generally considered the key event that started the wave of Civil Rights passive resistance demonstrations that lead to many key things that have somewhat improved the lives of people of color in the USA. *shakes head* Still working on it, I'm ashamed to admit. But, it takes nothing away from what Ms. Parks and her comrades accomplished.
Sorry to be so long-winded, but it's an important issue to me!
(no subject)
10/26/05 11:45 am (UTC)