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View Full Version : Good Morning...Historic Act of Civil Disobedience



Okla-homey
12/1/2008, 06:49 AM
December 1, 1955: Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a bus

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/8473/92604981vd9.png
Ms. Parks' MPD booking photo

53 years ago today, seamstress Rosa Parks, 42, is arrested for refusing to relinquish her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama--an act that is in direct violation of a city ordinance requiring black people to ride in the rear of the bus. Three days after the incident, she was found guilty and ordered to pay a $10 fine, plus an additional $4 in court costs.

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/5728/rtimelinebuss1reporttr8.jpg

Ms. Parks was the secretary of the local chapter of the NAACP and her courageous act had been coordinated with chapter leadership to help spark a controversy that would capture the nation's attention at a time when black citizens lacked many civil rights guarenteed them under the Constitution. Ms. Parks was chosen because she was attractive, lacked a police record, and was female; all characteristics that were rightly believed by movement leaders to invoke sympathy and inspire others.

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/755/rosaparksmarkeref6.jpg

Parks was actually sitting in the first row that had been assigned to black people in the rear of the vehicle, but because the front of the bus was full, the driver demanded that she give her seat to a white rider. Her refusal to give up her seat, and the controversy that ensued, resulted in a local boycott, for which Parks and 88 others were arrested in February 1956.

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/7855/rbusboycottsegregationlul7.jpg

In spite of this obstacle, the protest lasted more than a year, until the Supreme Court ruled that the Montgomery ordinance was unconstitutional. On December 21, 1956, Parks was able to ride in the front of the bus.

More important, however, Parks' act of civil disobedience inspired a nationwide civil rights movement that would last almost a decade. In 1964, protesters were victorious when Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, which guaranteed full access to all public facilities throughout the nation.

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/3472/rcleavelandavebusoq8.png
Years later, the actual bus was found by Montgomery leaders

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/8180/r800pxrosaparksbusfo4.jpg
The actual bus was restored to its 1955 appearance and placed on public display in Montgomery

Having later left Alabama for the north, Rosa Parks died on October 24, 2005 at her home in Michigan. Three days later the U.S. Senate passed a resolution to honor Parks by allowing her body to lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. Ms. Parks lying in state in the Capitol was the first and only time a non-military or elected official was ever so honored.

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/6982/longwalkhomedvdcovermg5.jpg
If you would like to enjoy a well-acted cinematic portrayal of the 1955-56 events in Montgomery, this film does a good job. Shot in and around Montgomery, it fairly captures the emotions and significance of the boycott.

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/19/insane7zont9.jpg

olevetonahill
12/1/2008, 01:29 PM
I wonder why that Ninjer professor didnt Comment about this . :D
I for one am Proud Of How far our country has come in the last 50 years

OKLA21FAN
12/1/2008, 01:36 PM
this thread is full of value, and should be moved to the football board

olevetonahill
12/1/2008, 01:51 PM
this thread is full of value, and should be moved to the football board

HEH

yermom
12/1/2008, 01:57 PM
i never knew it was that orchestrated, kinda loses a little luster IMO

how were her and 88 people arrested for a boycott?

SicEmBaylor
12/1/2008, 02:39 PM
I met her once. At Honey Springs of all places.

Frozen Sooner
12/1/2008, 02:47 PM
Good stuff.

Homey, if you're interested in civil rights legislation and fights, check out the story of Elizabeth Peratrovich. Not well-known, but a key figure. Her testimony was key in getting the first anti-discrimination legislation in the United States passed, and she gave the best defense of such legislation I've ever heard.

Okla-homey
12/1/2008, 08:26 PM
i never knew it was that orchestrated, kinda loses a little luster IMO




heck bro, I think its even more impressive. To take down systemic and well-intrenched apartheid, you gotta have your act together. Those people thought it through, and executed with precision. And, significantly, completely peacefully.

SouthCarolinaSooner
12/1/2008, 11:42 PM
If I recall, Parks was the second to do this, the first lady was not used by the NAACP because she was a pregnant 17 year old

Viking Kitten
12/2/2008, 12:25 AM
If I recall, Parks was the second to do this, the first lady was not used by the NAACP because she was a pregnant 17 year old

That's right, Claudette Colvin was her name. I got to hear her and Rosa Parks' attorney, Fred Gray, speak about the whole case a couple years back. He has written a book called "Bus Ride to Justice" that details the orchestrated protest and the ensuing legal battle. Very interesting stuff.

BigRedJed
12/2/2008, 12:46 AM
On a side note, that bus kicks ***. I wonder what they'd take for it?

yermom
12/2/2008, 12:59 AM
heck bro, I think its even more impressive. To take down systemic and well-intrenched apartheid, you gotta have your act together. Those people thought it through, and executed with precision. And, significantly, completely peacefully.

oh, for sure, it's impressive. what i mean is it seems that she gets all the credit, when she got a lot of help. the school books didn't mention she worked for the NAACP when i was learning this stuff

she just happened to be the one that went through with it

though, i wish people of every color shared the will and peaceful methods in the face of what that movement had to deal with

SicEmBaylor
12/2/2008, 01:00 AM
I'm not sure I approve of her blatant disregard for the rule of law.
I would have told her that personally when I met her, but I was too awestruck.

Frozen Sooner
12/2/2008, 01:41 AM
I'm not sure I approve of her blatant disregard for the rule of law.
I would have told her that personally when I met her, but I was too awestruck.

I know you say things like that just to seem kooky, but it's hard to describe someone who committed no act of violence and no act of property destruction as blatantly disregarding the rule of law when she went peaceably with police officers and stood trial willingly.

proud gonzo
12/2/2008, 03:21 AM
I know you say things like that just to seem kooky, but it's hard to describe someone who committed no act of violence and no act of property destruction as blatantly disregarding the rule of law when she went peaceably with police officers and stood trial willingly.is he trying to sound kooky? I thought he was trying to sound tarded.

BigRedJed
12/2/2008, 08:33 AM
The signing of the Declaration of Independence was a blatant disregard for the rule of law. Punishible by hanging.

Just sayin'.

Hot Rod
12/2/2008, 09:01 AM
Thanks for sharing as always, Homey!

Jimminy Crimson
12/2/2008, 03:33 PM
Ah ha, hush that fuss, everybody move to the back of the bus...

pergdaddy
12/2/2008, 03:53 PM
Awesome Outkast reference. Good beat to that song. Good song.

Christ, I thought by the title that I was going to read that Al Gore started Project Mayhem.