There are details that Mrs. Parks includes in her story that are not a part of the widespread, well known bus-boycott story. I did not know that it was unplanned, nor did I know that she among others, including Dr. King, were arrested for keeping the bus company out of business. While she laughs, remembering the upset that she first began, it is hard I feel even in the 21st century to understand that full effect of her refusal.
If the same racial segregation and hatred existed today as it did in Rosa Park's time, what would the consequences of a boycott be? Police brutality now can take shape with pepper spray, and tasers. Boycotts would exist on subways, and lines for taxis.
How applicable would Rosa Park's boycott be in this day in age, and how do you think it could transform if events of her times transpired now?
You say that you did not know that her defiance to move to the back of the bus was unplanned. However, I think that this is the exact opposite of what the classic Rosa Parks story details. Rosa Parks was often described as a sweet elderly woman whose tired feet caused her to defy segregation on Montgomery’s city buses, and whose supposedly solitary, spontaneous act sparked the 1955 bus boycott that gave birth to the civil rights movement. We know from McGuire's book though that this is not the case. Rosa Parks was an very active member of the NAACP dating back to at least 1944 when she helped investigate the Recy Taylor case.
ReplyDeleteThe interview with Rosa Parks on Merv Griffen show in 1983 is very interesting because it portrays Rosa Parks in almost the exact opposite fashion as McGuire does in her book. Just like the classic story of a fed up women is detailed, Rosa in this interview is also very careful in keeping this facade up. This is because the classic story of a single person's defiance serves as a very powerful and particular purpose within the Civil Rights Movement. This class story shows that the common, everyday African American was fed up with segregation and discrimination, not just the members of the NAACP and other activists. Had the public known of her membership with the NAACP, the idea of her as representative of all African Americans in the South would have been lost. Instead, this story of a single, brave act of defiance was an innocent old women attempts to show that it is not just activist and progressives that are tired of segregation, the entire black population is.
Furthermore, the idea of Rosa Parks as an everyday women serves to inspire the average African American southerner to also stand up and fight. The classic story strives to say that you do not have to be a leader in the NAACP, or even a member of an African American rights group, you can still fight for the rights in which you feel you deserve.
I think that the questions that you pose are interesting but not necessarily pertinent to the subject at hand. The fact of the matter is that Rosa Park's act of defiance and the proceeding bus boycott happened in the 1955. Understanding the social climate during this time is important when trying get get a grasp on understanding the Civil Rights Movement as a whole. If segregation still existed today, I doubt the result of her refusal to move to the back of the bus would be much different but it is impossible to say for a fact. You mention police brutality but we must remember that police brutality was commonplace in this time also. Therefore, I think that the more pertinent question is not what would the results be if this were to happen today but instead how did this act of defiance and subsequent bus boycott influence the Civil Rights Movement as a whole and what are the implications of these actions in the present day.
I also found this interview with Merv Griffin, as well as her interview for "Eyes on the Prize: Awakenings," very interesting. I think the point that Megan raises about Rosa Parks "keeping this facade up" is interesting as well. The fact that Rosa Parks felt the need to continue presenting herself as a typical black woman who was simply tired of being oppressed shows her continued importance to the civil rights movement, a movement which was still ongoing and desperately. She had to continue to inspire everyday people to keep up the fight.
ReplyDeleteAs for what the impact of her actions would be today, that is impossible to know. But, I do think it is worth noting that organizing and networking is much more easily done now than it was in 1955. It would be easier to mobilize people and create more awareness today, due to the internet and social media sites, than in Rosa Parks' own time. We discussed somewhat in class the extensive organization and networking that went into making the boycotts possible, and those efforts would be made much easier with today's technology. So while it is impossible to come up with possible scenarios for if Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus today, we do know that there would be more public awareness, and faster mobilization, as seen with contemporary civil rights events like the protests in Ferguson, Missouri.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Megan. I believe that history is painted in such a way as to keep uncomfortable things small and to make the people bigger. What I mean by that is that this whole narrative maybe gets about 2 sentences in most history books. The writers of history have shaped Parks’ story so that she seems to be this old, exhausted grandmother who simply did not feel like standing up that day; that this act was a spontaneous, impromptu, unintentional act of defiance. But the reality is, as Megan pointed out in the earlier comment, Rosa Parks had been active in the NAACP and countless other organizations and movements. She was being intentional. But the writers of the history books want to make that fact disappear. They made this act of defiance small, even though it was big. Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. ended the age of segregation and everything was set right, The End. (says the history books)
You can see the evidence of this in Mrs. Parks’ interview in the video we watched. Merv Griffin tried to paint the picture for us, and prompt Mrs. Parks to say what he wanted to hear. It is disgusting. I am glad that I have read more on Rosa Parks because now I understand the real narrative. The struggle to end segregation and Jim Crow was not about ONE woman saying ‘No’ on a bus, rather about multiple blacks standing up for themselves and what was right. Yes Rosa Parks was a big player but so were the other thousands of blacks.