Fab Friday Spotlight: Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks riding on the Montgomery Area Transit System bus in Montgomery, Ala. Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus Dec. 1, 1955, and ignited the boycott that led to a federal court ruling against segregation in public transportation. (Photo: AP)
Too often trashy stories, fight videos, gossip and other not so good things flood our newsfeeds. Who needs more of that? So on Fridays we want to start spreading the positive by highlighting a fabulous female who's made quite an impact.
She could be someone from history, someone in the present, someone famous or simply an everyday girl. Either way, we want to salute these fabulous ladies for doing fabulous things and being an inspiration.
In honor of Black History Month, for our first Fab Friday Spotlight we want to highlight Rosa Parks.
She's someone just about everyone has learned about in history class as the black woman who famously refused to give up her seat to a white person on the bus - this during the trying times of segregation and racial uprising in the south. However Mrs. Parks was a Civil Rights activist long before she took that bus ride on December 1, 1955 and continued to fight for the equal rights of African-Americans long after.
One of the things Parks could most be admired for is that despite her arrest, the hate, and even the death threats she endured - she was determined to stand up for what was right and fight for freedom in the face of fear.
Parks herself said “I learned to put my trust in God and to see Him as my strength. Long ago I set my mind to be a free person and not to give in to fear. I always felt that it was my right to defend myself if I could. I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear."
During the course of her life she worked for the NAACP, as an aide for Congressman John Conyers Jr., started the Rosa L. Parks Scholarship Foundation, co-founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development to help young people in Detroit and also authored two books. Parks died in October 2005 at the age of 92. Yesterday, February 4th would have been her 103rd birthday.
Before she died, when asked what she wanted her legacy to be, she simply put: "I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free... so other people would be also free."
Thank you Mrs. Parks for fighting for freedom and being an inspiration to girls and young women everywhere. We salute you.
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