Happy Birthday, Rosa Parks

This month, we celebrate what would have been the 107th birthday for one of America’s most famous African American civil rights activists – Rosa Parks. Of course, Parks is most commonly known for refusing to give up her bus seat for a white passenger. Her actions spurred the Montgomery bus boycott and she became an “international icon of resistance to racial segregation.”

Today, rather than talk about the things you know about Parks – I thought I’d highlight some lesser known facts about her life. Born in Tuskegee, Alabama, Parks had African, Scottish, Irish, and Native American ancestry. She encountered racism every day – the Ku Klux Klan marched down her street, she was bullied by white children in her neighborhood , fought back, and her school was burned down twice by arsonists. In 1943, she became active in the civil rights movement, joining the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP, and was elected secretary.

It wasn’t until 12 years later that Parks refused requests from bus driver James Blake to move back on the bus. And in fact, it was her second encounter with the bus driver – he had previously ejected her from a bus in 1943 because she didn’t enter from the back. In fact, Parks made it a point to see who was driving the bus after that incident, not wanting to ride with Blake again. She hadn’t noticed who was driving when she boarded in 1955.

After the boycott, her arrest, and the following court case, Parks moved to Detroit – her and her husband had lost their jobs and were unable to find work in Montgomery. She worked as a secretary for John Conyers’s congressional office in Detroit, where she remained until retiring in 1988. She remained active in advocating various socio-economic issues, but as she grew older, personal issues and her health prohibited a larger role. Shortly before her death, in 2002, Parks received an eviction notice for non-payment of her $1,800 per month rent; age-related physical and mental difficulties rendered her incapable of managing her finances. Eventually, she was permitted to live rent-free in the building, and died of natural causes a few years later.

It’s sad to me, as I’m sure to many of us, that such an influential figure in the history of the US was not more comfortable in her last years of life. It’s a reminder that in the 24-hour-news cycle and the 15 minutes of fame it affords, the heroes of our world are forgotten as quickly as they are found. This week, let’s keep Rosa Parks on our mind and in our hearts.

- Reshma