Partly, the people within the civil rights movement who were int he position o manage its image saw certain tactical advantages in making it look purely spontaneous, precisely for the reasons you brought up. The ordinary person standing up for what’s right is a very powerful (if not especialy realistic) image.

The ore I study it and think about it, the more I think the image of Rosa Parks as a committed activist is more powerful than that of Rosa Parks as a tired lady who wanted to sit down. Partly because I like people who spend their lives fighting for justice.

And if you really wanna get into America’s fear of minorities organizing, there’s lots of material out there about the FBI’s repressive action against the Black Power, Chicano, and American Indian movements in the 70s…..

Or perhaps at least some of us think that ordinary people who have done extraordinary things are very cool people and should be remembered. The thought that someone who (according to the story) didn’t really have an agenda just stood up (or sat down) and said “This isn’t fair and it needs to stop” appeals to the notion of the courageous American, standing up for freedom and against injustice. Hey, look at the legends and stories surrounding our Revolutionary war — plenty of that kind of thing going on there. It’s a very powerful image, and has always been presented in a positive manner in my experience.

Finding out that it was not AS spontaneous is kind of a downer, but as I generally believe that truth is better than fiction where history is concerned, I’ll keep the truth in mind from here on out. And be obnoxious enough to correct people as necessary.

It’s not to say that the thought of black/brown people organizing doesn’t scare the beejeebers out of some white people — I think that’s a very valid point, even if it does sadden me greatly — just that there are (hopefully!) other reasons as well that her story had such appeal.

Just some thoughts….

In the year preceeding her famous arrest, E. D. Nixon, a minister and president of the local NAACP, had been drawing up plans for a mass bus boycott (with other community activists), but didn’t know when to launch it. It almost happened when a 15 year old girl was arrested, but she was pregnant and unmarried, so they decided against exposing her to that kind of scrutiny. When Rosa Parks was arrested a few months later, the boycott was launched, in part because they knew she was such a stand-up citizen and couldn’t be smeared. Note: her refusal to give up her seat was a personally spontaneous act in that she hadn’t received instructions (or even the suggestion) to sit down on that day or any other. She sat down on that day cause she was tired both physically and socially. The decision to launch the boycott was a spontaneous reaction to her arrest, but one based on about a year of planning.

Anyways, what’s the point of my rambling? I dunno.

I guess it’s that, although I have a lot of problems with how her act is portrayed (just some innocent old lady sitting down, and every black person sponaneously boycotting busses), I still think she deserves a lot recognition for what she did on December 2, 1955, and the years before and after.

And I think part of the popularity of the spontaneous-act myth is that, even today, white Americans are terrified of the idea of their black people organizing.

brave committed activist

part. She was involved in the movement before and after her arrest. I don’t think that takes away from her legacy at all, but adds to it, by emphasizing that she a powerful, political woman engaged in organized resistance.

And I disagree. While–remember, Robert?–it’s very important not to assume that pointing out insulting beliefs is the same as holding them oneself, I don’t think that’s all that’s going on here.

He said that she only became famous because there was nothing in her past to discredit her. I consider this insulting both to the civil-rights leaders who “chose” her and to Rosa Parks herself, and I don’t think it’s a valid conclusion to draw from the praise she has received throughout her life. There are a lot of reasons why this woman would become a popular hero: the everyday nature of the famous story is the most obvious.

He also said that he, personally, found it “hard to get excited” about her. In other words, he is not merely disparaging racist shitheads and the cult of celebrity, but denigrating her achievements. Her protest wasn’t that valuable.

Lots of people behaved with extraordinary courage during the civil rights movement. Lots of people put their safety, their livelihood, and their lives on the line. But that doesn’t in any way diminish Rosa Parks’s courage. And generally, when we eulogize people, we do not point out that lots of other people were equally brave, kind, successful, loved, or anything else. It seems sort un-generous to diminish the accomplishments of the person who has just died.