Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Godspeed, Rosa

I wasn't born when Rosa Parks took a stand by staying seated. I grew up in Illinois, and did not experience institutionalized Jim Crow racism. Oh, it was there, all right, it just wasn't printed on signs. Everyone knew in the mid-1960's that the racial makeup of the movie audience at the local theater was different on the main floor than it was in the balcony. I knew those things, and I was a 10-year old kid. I cannot even imagine what every day must have been like in a world that said everywhere and every way, including under the law, that your humanity was defined by race. She was truly a PERSON of remarkable courage.

Godspeed, Rosa.

No comments: