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DETROIT — Rosa Lee Parks (search), whose refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man sparked the modern civil rights movement (search), died Monday. She was 92.
Mrs. Parks died at her home of natural causes, said Karen Morgan, a spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. John Conyers (search), D-Mich.
Mrs. Parks was 42 when she committed an act of defiance in 1955 that was to change the course of American history and earn her the title "mother of the civiuses, restaurants and public accommodations throughout the South, while legally sanctioned racial discrimination kept blacks out of many jobs and neighborhoods in the North.
The Montgomery, Ala., seamstress, an active member of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was riding on a city bus Dec. 1, 1955, when a white man demanded her seat.
Mrs. Parks refused, despite rules requiring blacks to yield their seats to whites. Two black Montgomery women had been arrested earlier that year on the same charge, but Mrs. Parks was jailed. She also was fined $14.
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (search) said he felt a personal tie to the civil rights icon: "She stood up by sitting down. I'm only standing here because of her."
More availible at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,173335,00.html
Even though her role was limited and she did not do as much as Bobby Kennedy or Martin Luther King, Jr. to change the racism in America, her simple act of defiance was a spark that lit a roaring fire. At 92, this is no shock, but we should still take the time to think about the bravery this woman showed and all the inspiration that act instilled in American leaders both black and white.
Rest In Peace.
Mrs. Parks died at her home of natural causes, said Karen Morgan, a spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. John Conyers (search), D-Mich.
Mrs. Parks was 42 when she committed an act of defiance in 1955 that was to change the course of American history and earn her the title "mother of the civiuses, restaurants and public accommodations throughout the South, while legally sanctioned racial discrimination kept blacks out of many jobs and neighborhoods in the North.
The Montgomery, Ala., seamstress, an active member of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was riding on a city bus Dec. 1, 1955, when a white man demanded her seat.
Mrs. Parks refused, despite rules requiring blacks to yield their seats to whites. Two black Montgomery women had been arrested earlier that year on the same charge, but Mrs. Parks was jailed. She also was fined $14.
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (search) said he felt a personal tie to the civil rights icon: "She stood up by sitting down. I'm only standing here because of her."
More availible at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,173335,00.html
Even though her role was limited and she did not do as much as Bobby Kennedy or Martin Luther King, Jr. to change the racism in America, her simple act of defiance was a spark that lit a roaring fire. At 92, this is no shock, but we should still take the time to think about the bravery this woman showed and all the inspiration that act instilled in American leaders both black and white.
Rest In Peace.
I still can't get over that a mere 50 years ago such hideous laws existed in the United States of all countries.
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