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In the wake of Rosa Parks' death (no pun intended) I find myself less receptive to the propoganda that is her legacy. Not to disrespect her memory, but her being touted as the "mother of the civil rights movement", for me rings false in a way.
I learned that another woman before Rosa Parks also protested giving up her seat, in the hopes of creating a domino effect among other civil rights supporters. However, I believe the woman--whose name I don't know, was not viewed by the NAACP as an upstanding enough citizen to represent the movement on it's behalf. She was a single mother and maybe had some other unattractive attributes. Rosa Parks had an entire organization behind her, but the situation is being made out to lead people to belive that she was this lone soldier who spontaneously struck out on her own and single handedly changed a thread in time, which doesn't seem to be the case.
I think Ms. Parks was a brave woman, but it is easier to be brave with a whole organization backing you. I just don't like the distortion of history-particularly when it negates the contributions of others who played significant roles as well.
As an African American woman I cherish and respect the actions that have occured before me that afford me the sometimes seemingly limited freedoms I enjoy today, however, I think there are many more women and men who made hefty contributions to the ongoing fight for civil rights in this country, who may have risked more, who may have accomplished more, who have been forgotten.
