Rosa Parks 1913-2005
While Mrs. Parks was indeed an OlderWiserWoman, this post is very personal, telling you a bit about the personal impact this woman had on my life.
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Though I never met Rosa Parks I grew up with her and the entire civil rights movement. Yes…I was only 6 months old when she decided enough was enough. However, growing up, our household always had news of civil rights.
You see, in some states, my parents would have been criminals because they married. There was a time in our history, in the not to distant past that my father (like his grandmother) would have been born into slavery. Indeed, I would not have been allowed to ride a bus, drink from a fountain or perhaps attend the school of my choice. Only….I didn’t live in the south.
We lived in the west, where my parents had trouble getting married (WA and OR). A move to the more progressive San Francisco was still, in those days fraught with trouble. Certainly both sets of grandparents had difficulty in accepting my other parent. My mother’s family (for the most part) still has not.
Our household held a great deal of respect for Mrs. Parks as well as the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. Even as a child, I knew that they were responsible for making the world a kinder place for other children like me. I knew they made it possible for my parents to be my parents.
During one of my trips to Atlanta a few years back, I visited the King Center (an amazing place). The life sized pictures of Mrs. Parks was almost like she was there next to me. The history is written for all to see, in pictures and in words. It’s a story that is sad, full of terror, and they bursting with hope. I cried. Hard.
I’ve never stopped thanking her, and the other women and men who showed extraordinary heroism during the Civil Rights movement. Because they gave of themselves, even when they were unaware of the impact they would have…my life, the life of my siblings and the life of all our children is so much better.
I feel blessed that in my lifetime, I’ve seen so many great leaders, that I have benefited from the gifts they have given to the rest of us.
Thank you Rosa Parks.
Namaste,
Barbara C. Phillips, NP
OlderWiserWomen*#8482
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Though I never met Rosa Parks I grew up with her and the entire civil rights movement. Yes…I was only 6 months old when she decided enough was enough. However, growing up, our household always had news of civil rights.
You see, in some states, my parents would have been criminals because they married. There was a time in our history, in the not to distant past that my father (like his grandmother) would have been born into slavery. Indeed, I would not have been allowed to ride a bus, drink from a fountain or perhaps attend the school of my choice. Only….I didn’t live in the south.
We lived in the west, where my parents had trouble getting married (WA and OR). A move to the more progressive San Francisco was still, in those days fraught with trouble. Certainly both sets of grandparents had difficulty in accepting my other parent. My mother’s family (for the most part) still has not.
Our household held a great deal of respect for Mrs. Parks as well as the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. Even as a child, I knew that they were responsible for making the world a kinder place for other children like me. I knew they made it possible for my parents to be my parents.
During one of my trips to Atlanta a few years back, I visited the King Center (an amazing place). The life sized pictures of Mrs. Parks was almost like she was there next to me. The history is written for all to see, in pictures and in words. It’s a story that is sad, full of terror, and they bursting with hope. I cried. Hard.
I’ve never stopped thanking her, and the other women and men who showed extraordinary heroism during the Civil Rights movement. Because they gave of themselves, even when they were unaware of the impact they would have…my life, the life of my siblings and the life of all our children is so much better.
I feel blessed that in my lifetime, I’ve seen so many great leaders, that I have benefited from the gifts they have given to the rest of us.
Thank you Rosa Parks.
Namaste,
Barbara C. Phillips, NP
OlderWiserWomen*#8482
posted by BarbaraC. Phillips, NP | 10:10 PM
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