A Lady With a Right

Rosa Parks died yesterday at the age of 92. To tell the truth I did not even know that she was still alive, but she is a very important figure in the history of America and deserves to be remembered. What was her big accomplishment? Saying a simple "no." It was December 1, 1955, almost 50 years ago, and Ms. Parks had been working all day at her job as a seamstress and had heavy bags of groceries to take home. Being black she couldn't sit near the front of the bus, so she took a seat towards the back. As the bus continued on its route it picked up more passengers including the rush hour crowd and the Christmas shoppers. The bus quickly filled and it wasn't long until she, along with the other black passengers, were told to give up there seats to some white gentlemen who had just boarded the bus. It may have been because she was so tired from her long day or because she saw the injustice in it all, but Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. She realized her right as a human being to be an equal who should be treated with just as much respect as those men, perhaps even more since she was a woman. Whenever I hear of Rosa Parks and her story I think of the times that I rode in the buses down in Disney World and my dad and uncles would give up their seats to the women who would otherwise have to stand up for the ride. It always makes me proud when I think of it. Rosa Parks was an inspiration for the civil rights movement as she stood up for herself and her rights amid the persecution and inequality with which she was treated. Even though there is still bigotry and racism in our country today, we have come a long way in the past 50 years in recognizing the equality and dignity of all human beings. We owe a lot to a little lady with a right.