DAY 289 - INSPIRATIONAL WEDNESDAY: ROSA PARKS

Day 289

From now on, on Wednesdays, I will write a post about a person, famous or not, who has an inspirational story.  Examples of courage, love, dedication and inner strength never fail to provide me with food for thought and often give me a warm, fuzzy feeling about the fact that, despite what the media tends to portray on a daily basis, there are many great human beings that roam the earth!

Rosa Parks with Martin Luther  King
in the background

I've decided to start with Rosa Parks.  Many of you probably already know her...

Rosa Louise Parks was born in Alabama, U.S.A. in 1913.  At that time, there was racial segregation in the U.S.  In the southern part of the States especially, black people suffered racism in the most indecent ways.  Some public places were off limits to them and they were asked to give away their seats to white people on the bus, as though they were second-class citizens!

Rosa Parks was a seamstress.   She became an emblematic figure against racial segregation when, on December 1st 1955, she refused to give away her seat to a white man.  I would have loved to see the expression on  the guy's face when she refused to give away her seat!  

The police arrested her and gave her a fifteen dollar fine.  But she decided to bring the case to court.  Meanwhile, a young unknown 26 year-old black pastor by the name of Martin Luther King, launched a campaign to boycott the bus company.  The boycott lasted 381 days.

On November 13th 1956. the Supreme Court  finally abolished the segregational laws being used on buses, declaring them unconstitutional.

I love Rosa Parks' story.  She didn't let fear dictate her behaviour, she chose to live by her beliefs and values, despite the consequences.  She was a black woman in a world ruled by white men, but she believed her voice was as important as anyone else's and she made sure it was heard.

"I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free... so other people would be also free." 

Rosa Parks

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