Who knew that on that ordinary day in December 1955 that history would be made? Rosa Parks took a simple action of refusing to give up her seat. Her action has had an enduring affect.
According to the Washington Post, the United States Postal Service honors her with U.S. “forever stamp” on what would have been her 100th birthday. Who could have imagined how Ms. Parks’ actions would have affected the future?
For instance, historians know that the stand Rosa Parks took for justice shaped the Montgomery Bus Boycott that launched after her bus encounter. People likely felt encouraged and mobilized by her action and the presence of a young Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who assumed the helm of the civil rights movement. But, history cannot forget that baseball great Jackie Robinson took a similar stand refusing to give up his seat in 1944.
The stand she took was probably supported, in part, because the nation was still brewing over the landmark Brown v. Board of Education school desegregation decision in 1954. Then the Supreme Court returned with the Brown II decision and a mandate for implementation “with a deliberate speed” that was interpreted by most states as a directive to drag heals with desegregation orders.
However, refusing to give up her seat that day meant that her life changed forever. Could she still shop at the local store without being harassed? Were people grateful for her stand or irritated that she dared to defy tradition? No one but Ms. Parks and her family can share the far-reaching impact of her arrest and the birth of the contemporary civil rights movement that ensued.
Rosa Parks did not set out to be a civil rights hero. But, today a nation celebrates her on a U.S. “forever stamp” for her seat refusal. Deputy Postmaster General Ronald Stroman said that her “quiet strength helped to change a nation. Let this stamp be a symbol of her courage and determination. And let it remind us to never forget the indignities of days gone by — and to never stop fighting for the aspirations of generations yet unborn.”
By all accounts, Rosa Parks sparked a national firestorm and will likely continue for years to come.
Dawn McCoy, author of Leadership Building Blocks: An Insider’s Guide to Success
