Anniversary of Parks' Civil Disobedience Act Inspires Tributes
by Jenni Parker
December 1, 2005
(AgapePress) - - Individuals and groups around the U.S. are remembering the late civil rights hero Rosa Parks today on this 50th anniversary of her historic act of civil disobedience. In honor of her contribution to the causes of justice and equality, many nationwide have dedicated the day as a memorial to Parks and her legacy -- one Internet community even designating this the first annual "Blog Against Racism Day."
Rosa Parks was arrested December 1, 1955 in then segregated Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger when the driver ordered her to do so in accordance with the Jim Crow laws in effect at the time. While oral legend has spread the notion that Parks resisted out of weariness after a hard day's work, she herself refuted that, saying, "I was not tired physically, or no more than I usually was at the end of a working day .... No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in."
Parks was found guilty and fined $10 plus court costs, but she appealed. The Tuskegee native, who passed away October 24 of this year, became known as the "Mother of the Modern Day Civil rights movement" largely on the basis of her pivotal act of defiance that December day in 1955, an act credited with sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
However, that act was only one of several incidents of resistance against racism and ignorance that Parks performed throughout a lifetime of speaking out and speaking up for justice and civil rights. She played a role in the early history of the NAACP, was active in the Montgomery Voters League, and worked for several years for Congressman John Conyers, Jr.'s office. This energetic woman was also a lifelong advocate for human rights, empowerment and dignity who founded several organizations including the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development, Pathways to Freedom Program, and The Parks Legacy. And in 1999, she received the Congressional Medal of Freedom for her contributions.
An Inspiration to People of Faith and Conviction
In addition to all she did for civil rights and other social justice causes, Parks served as an inspiration to people of all races and walks of life, including numerous faith community leaders and pro-family activists. Dr. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) calls her "a great woman who was committed to uncovering wrong and doing right."
In a statement issued not long after the civil rights legend's death, Land noted that Parks said her faith in God was what gave her the strength and courage to persevere in a culture that denied basic human rights to black Americans. "Throughout her life," he observed, "she demonstrated a quiet and dignified strength in standing for justice and equal rights for all Americans." He went on to point out how Parks had affected his life personally, saying it was the sacrifice of people like her "that inspired me to conduct a tour of historic civil rights sites in Georgia and Alabama following the 1999 Southern Baptist Convention in Atlanta."
The ERLC spokesman added, "I am grateful for her indomitable spirit in the struggle for freedom and justice and for her unflagging dedication in calling our nation to close out the ugly era of racial segregation and to heed the biblical truth expressly stated in our nation's Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal." Land says all Americans owe Mrs. Parks and other civil rights pioneers "a great debt for their courage" in resisting the evils of the segregation era and for "making it possible for us to live in a society committed to racial reconciliation and justice."
Another Christian leader, evangelist Bishop T.D. Jakes of the Potter's House church in Dallas, Texas, honors Parks in particular for her "genuine warmth" and the "valor and uncompromising strength" she displayed. Jakes says she "taught a growing nation that strength is not always in how loud we scream, but how strongly we resist the appearance of insurmountable circumstances." Although this "mighty matriarch of the civil rights movement has left us in body," he predicts, "her spirit will endure as we watch and wait for the next generation of leaders to stand up, take the torch, and lead our children into a new era of brave equality."
Another black Christian leader who says Parks had a profound impact on his life is Dr. Johnny Barbour, head of the African Methodist Episcopal Church's publishing division, the AMEC Sunday School Union. The AME Church was Parks' own denomination, and she holds a special place of honor in its members' hearts, but Barbour says he feels a special connection with the civil rights leader. On April 20, 1961, almost six years after the civil rights activist's arrest, he and three other students had to remember her bravery and resolve when they boarded a city bus in Jackson, Mississippi, and sat in a "White only" section, refusing to move.
"We were arrested and charged with 'breach of the peace,'" Barbour notes. "I have continued to work for an all-inclusive society until this day."
Another AMEC member who honors Parks' memory is the denomination's first female bishop, Vashti McKenzie. She says she is grateful to Rosa Parks for her example, not only to all of the black community and the rest of America but to all women as well, of how to show courage under fire.
"A diminutive woman, her bold gesture of sitting down when society demanded she stand motivated a people to find their voice and their confidence to refute injustice," Bishop McKenzie says. She says Parks has inspired countless women and men to lead the charge against inequality and unfairness, "whether found on a bus or in a neighborhood, school, business, or government."
A Champion of Equality, an Icon for the Pro-Life Cause
Many in the pro-life community across America also point to Parks as a symbol and an inspiration for those fighting the injustice of abortion. Father Frank Pavone of the Catholic organization Priests for Life joined Dr. Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in issuing a statement of respect and remembrance upon the passing of the civil rights icon.
Pavone and King pointed out that Parks' act of resistance to an unjust law, her so-called civil disobedience, "was actually an act of obedience to God, affirming the equality of every human being." In their statement, they asserted that all those who fight for the equality of the unborn today "must likewise resist unjust laws that permit abortion."
Tennessee pastor Joseph Parker, a member of Black Americans for Life and Nashville Right to Life, agrees. But at the same time, he laments that so many of the people who express admiration for Parks' courageous and faithful stands, "are unwilling to address or face with courage -- or even serious concern -- what may be the most serious civil rights issue in our nation's history."
More than 4,200 unborn infants are aborted daily in the U.S, Parker notes, and more than 1,400 of them are black babies. "Abortion clinics are systematically placed in African American communities all over the U.S.," he asserts, and among the primary reasons, he adds, are persistent racism, inequality, and a lack of true concern for justice.
For that reason, Pastor Parker contends, "All believers who admired Rosa Parks for her courage, faith, and dedication to justice need to become involved in ending abortion in this nation."
