rosa parks dies...

[sw20>>s14]

rosa parks dies at the age of 92...moment of silence for a humanitarian...R.I.P., your efforts and struggles will never be forgotten...

[sw20>>s14]

wow...people care about jokes and "funny public bathroom" more than this?...o-kay....

[S14DB]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v108/S14DB/Zilvia/RosaParks.jpg
(CNN) -- Rosa Parks, whose act of civil disobedience in 1955 inspired the modern civil rights movement, died Monday in Detroit, Michigan. She was 92.

Parks' moment in history began in December 1955 when she refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama.

Her arrest triggered a 381-day boycott of the bus system by blacks that was organized by a 26-year-old Baptist minister, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

The boycott led to a court ruling desegregating public transportation in Montgomery, but it wasn't until the 1964 Civil Rights Act that all public accommodations nationwide were desegregated.

Facing regular threats and having lost her department store job because of her activism, Parks moved from Alabama to Detroit in 1957. She later joined the staff of U.S. Rep. John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat.

Conyers, who first met Parks during the early days of the civil rights struggle, recalled Monday that she worked on his original congressional staff when he first was elected to the House of Representatives in 1964.

"I think that she, as the mother of the new civil rights movement, has left an impact not just on the nation, but on the world," he told CNN in a telephone interview. "She was a real apostle of the nonviolence movement."

He remembered her as someone who never raised her voice -- an eloquent voice of the civil rights movement.

"You treated her with deference because she was so quiet, so serene -- just a very special person," he said, adding that "there was only one" Rosa Parks.

Gregory Reed, a longtime friend and attorney, said Parks died between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. of natural causes. He called Parks "a lady of great courage."

Parks co-founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development to help young people pursue educational opportunities, get them registered to vote and work toward racial peace.

"As long as there is unemployment, war, crime and all things that go to the infliction of man's inhumanity to man, regardless -- there is much to be done, and people need to work together," she once said.

Even into her 80s, she was active on the lecture circuit, speaking at civil rights groups and accepting awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999.

"This medal is encouragement for all of us to continue until all have rights," she said at the June 1999 ceremony for the latter medal.

Parks was the subject of the documentary "Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks," which received a 2002 Oscar nomination for best documentary short.

In April, Parks and rap duo OutKast settled a lawsuit over the use of her name on a CD released in 1998. (Full story)
Bus boycott

She was born Rosa Louise McCauley in Tuskegee, Alabama, on February 4, 1913. Her marriage to Raymond Parks lasted from 1932 until his death in 1977.

Parks' father, James McCauley, was a carpenter, and her mother, Leona Edwards McCauley, a teacher.

Before her arrest in 1955, Parks was active in the voter registration movement and with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, where she also worked as a secretary in 1943.

At the time of her arrest, Parks was 42 and on her way home from work as a seamstress.

She took a seat in the front of the black section of a city bus in Montgomery. The bus filled up and the bus driver demanded that she move so a white male passenger could have her seat.

"The driver wanted us to stand up, the four of us. We didn't move at the beginning, but he says, 'Let me have these seats.' And the other three people moved, but I didn't," she once said.

When Parks refused to give up her seat, a police officer arrested her.

As the officer took her away, she recalled that she asked, "Why do you push us around?"

The officer's response: "I don't know, but the law's the law, and you're under arrest."

She added, "I only knew that, as I was being arrested, that it was the very last time that I would ever ride in humiliation of this kind."

Four days later, Parks was convicted of disorderly conduct and fined $14.

That same day, a group of blacks founded the Montgomery Improvement Association and named King, the young pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, as its leader, and the bus boycott began.

For the next 381 days, blacks -- who according to Time magazine had comprised two-thirds of Montgomery bus riders -- boycotted public transportation to protest Parks' arrest and in turn the city's Jim Crow segregation laws.

Black people walked, rode taxis and used carpools in an effort that severely damaged the transit company's finances.

The mass movement marked one of the largest and most successful challenges of segregation and helped catapult King to the forefront of the civil rights movement.

The boycott ended on November 13, 1956, after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that Montgomery's segregated bus service was unconstitutional.

Parks' act of defiance came one year after the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision that led to the end of racial segregation in public schools. (Full story)

U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, a Democrat, told CNN Monday he watched the 1955-56 Montgomery drama unfold as a teenager and it inspired him to get active in the civil rights movement.

"It was so unbelievable that this woman -- this one woman -- had the courage to take a seat and refuse to get up and give it up to a white gentleman. By sitting down, she was standing up for all Americans," he said.

DETROIT (Reuters) - Rosa Parks, the black seamstress whose refusal to give her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus to a white man sparked a revolution in American race relations, died on Monday at age 92.

Shirley Kaigler, Parks' lawyer, said she died while taking a nap early on Monday evening surrounded by a small group of friends and family members.

"She just fell asleep and didn't wake up," Kaigler said.

The cause of death was not immediately known. Parks had fought a long battle with dementia.

Kaigler said Parks was at home in an apartment complex overlooking the Detroit River and the border with Ontario, Canada, when she died.

[max_misawa]

crazy to see how much the world has changed in 50 years
+1 for her

she might even get her own holiday
another +1 for another day off from work (for those of you who work)

Max

[TheSnail]

wow...people care about jokes and "funny public bathroom" more than this?...o-kay....


Its not that, I my self did not see this thread. Much love to the woman that "woke" people up from that era. Her acts will continue to influence untill all things are even.

Rest in peace.

[SimpleS14]

Man, it is truely sad and may see R.I.P. She was a very strong woman. What urks me is how a majority of black people are forgetting what black people struggled and fought for. Not bashing only, just bringing a point that was brought up on the radio this morning (when I heard about Rosa Parks).

wow...people care about jokes and "funny public bathroom" more than this?...o-kay....

I just got out of bed man (on east coast here).



edit: Don't mean to come off cranky....

[cotbu]

To the mother of the civil rights movements....R.I.P
Mrs. Rosa Parks has led a life of fearless determination for the cause of civil rights. Her courageous act in 1955 not only signaled the dawning of a new era in the struggle for racial equality, but also a remarkable career of service to young people and political causes. Indeed, Rosa Parks represents the ideals of the distinguished labor leader for whom the Humanitarian Award is named.Dean Alma Young

[justinhustle]

such a sad day, and i heard some morons on the tv this morning saying, thats the lady from the outkast song...

needless to say, they werent white kids either.

i, myself can fully relate that to the dumbing down of america =/

[lucky7]

its funny i didnt hear about this yet. im no more than 40 minutes from detroit. i was at a bar off of rosa parks blvd and 8 mile on sunday. kinda weird.

[420sx]

wow...people care about jokes and "funny public bathroom" more than this?...o-kay....

its the truth bro,theres a reality check for ya. most people have no clue who she was. It all derives from poor level of education.

[NemeGuero]

Its just kinda hard to find the right words.. I really don't know what to say. I'm not sorry to hear this. She lived a complete life and accomplished many great things to be proud of. She has found her equal rights in death.. to be remembered is something only given to few.

[lucky7]

to be remembered is something only given to few.

best quote ive heard in a long time.

[DriftGirl]

Truly, A sad day for the world.

A lot has changed, but a lot remains the same....50 years isnt that long ago.


R.I.P.

[MakotoS13]

i heard she got pissed and demanded to ride shotgun.

hio!

[MurdarioStomp]

ha ha ha...man im sorry that shits funny makoto

maybe too soon, but shit i dont mind

[A Spec Products]

Truly, A sad day for the world.

A lot has changed, but a lot remains the same....50 years isnt that long ago.

R.I.P.

indeed, she did so much for the civil rights movement but a lot hasnt changed yet and most likely never will.

racism is something swept under the rug, its still very alive and well unfortunately. hopefully with time the melting pot will get larger.

on a positive note though, thankfully we don't live in an as obviously ignorant society as back in the 60s.

R.I.P


such a sad day, and i heard some morons on the tv this morning saying, thats the lady from the outkast song...

yeah and its sad cause that song has pretty much nothing to do with her or the civil rights movement.

but it is a good song though :)

[FRpilot]

wow i read this article 2 days ago.. i thought her time was like in the early 1900s.. i didnt know it was mid 1900s.. kinda shocking to me how the world was just 50 years ago..

[MakotoS13]

indeed, she did so much for the civil rights movement but a lot hasnt changed yet and most likely never will.

racism is something swept under the rug, its still very alive and well unfortunately. hopefully with time the melting pot will get larger.

on a positive note though, thankfully we don't live in an as obviously ignorant society as back in the 60s.

the difference is that now racism is swept under the rug and everyone has different roles.

[OptionZero]

Tomorrow in California it'll be Rosa Parks Day.

[NemeGuero]

really? is it an official state holiday?

[OptionZero]

Just because the Gov proclaims it doesn't mean we all get state holidays for it. He's recognizing Rosa Parks tomorrow and giving her a day, but they gotta make a law before it counts on our work or school schedules, sorry. blame the legislature (which u should be doing already =P).

I'll link it when press dptment gets around to uploading it...

In the meantime, check out all of the other "days (or weeks or months)" we got! If we got a day off for each one of these, we'd never go to school or work!

[OptionZero]

Rosa Parks Memorial Day (http://www.governor.ca.gov/state/govsite/[email protected]@@@0307511814.11 [email protected]@@@&BV_EngineID=ccciaddgdfmemijcfngcfkmdffidfng.0&sCatTitle=Proclamation&sFilePath=/govsite/proclamation/20051027_Rosa_Parks_Memorial_Day.html&sTitle=Governor+Schwarzenegger+Proclaims+October+2 8+%22Rosa+Parks+Memorial+Day%22&iOID=72331)

It's public.

[Romeyo07]

I want my own holiday

[OptionZero]

I'll get to work on that but it's been busy.

[sw20>>s14]

Rosa Parks Memorial Day (http://www.governor.ca.gov/state/govsite/[email protected]@@@0307511814.11 [email protected]@@@&BV_EngineID=ccciaddgdfmemijcfngcfkmdffidfng.0&sCatTitle=Proclamation&sFilePath=/govsite/proclamation/20051027_Rosa_Parks_Memorial_Day.html&sTitle=Governor+Schwarzenegger+Proclaims+October+2 8+%22Rosa+Parks+Memorial+Day%22&iOID=72331)

It's public.
good, i think she totally deserves it...

[Ghettokracker71]

I hate the fact that I still see racism in todays society. :(


R.I.P. Rosa Parks,much respect.

[AFSil80]

(I know I'm late)

A truly remarkable woman.

I admire her courage and willpower. It's something we should all hope to have.

Rest In Peace.