Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Special Edition 2000
A N INTERVIEW W ITH ROSA PARKS
B y J oy R amos
P ortland O bserver
of the
Rosa Parks is famously known as
“the mother o f the ci vil rights move
ment.” Her refusal to give up her seat
for a w hite man on a Montgomery,
Alabama bus on December 1, 1955
became a turning point in American
history. Rosa Parks was physically
tired, especially o f the treatment she
and other African Americans re
ceived with racism, segregation, and
Jim Crow laws o f the time.
Parks was later arrested for her
defiance and underwent trial. Draw
ing from her quiet strength, she be
came relentless by organizing a 381 -
day Montgomery bus boycott which
led to the Supreme C o u rt’s ruling in
November 1956 that segregation on
transportation is unconstitutional.
Q: O u r them e this y ear is “ A C all
to A ction.” You have exem plified
th a t m indset even b efore y our a r
rest in 1955 by serv ing as secretary
of the N A A CP and la te r A dviser to
the N A A CP Y outh C ouncil. How
can we be cataly sts fo r societal
change?
Rosa P a rk s: By helping one an
other. It just takes one person treat
ing another person with respect and
kindness to change society.
Q: You have also been a model of
service for the greater good. What
kind o f inner work is needed to re
spond to the urge or calling?
Rosa P a rk s: Start by teaching
the children to respect one another.
I am always concerned about chil
dren and human rights in general.
We must take care o f the children
and we must respect the rights o f a' 1
people to be free.
Q: You and your family have en
dured much discrimination for being
A frican A m erican. W hat is the
source that you tapped into during
times o f trouble and discernment?
Rosa P arks: God. My mother and
grandparents taught me to pray as a
child. They taught me not to lean on
my own understanding but to draw
my strength from God. I have always
had faith and believed if you do the
right thing, it will work out in the end.
Q : R egarding M artin L uther
King, a verdict was decided by a
Memphis jury that Dr. K ing's assas
sination was a conspiracy. Do you
have any thoughts on this case?
Rosa P ark s: No. I am just pleased
to know that his children are getting
some well deserved answers to their photo by Moneta Sleet, Jr.
questions.
Mrs. Rosa Parks, “the mother o f the civil rights movement" is shown with Martin Luther King, Jr. at left.
"A Call
To Action "
In the midst of eco
nomic chaos,
disinformation, a cri
sis in education,
wars and other di
versions, we are be
ing called upon to be
a people o f convic
tion, not confoimity.
Transformative
change in the new
millenium will not
come from the top
down but as a
grassroots effort
from the bottom up.
Please join us in this
year’s Martin Luther
King special edition
to heed the “Call to
Action” in creating a
New Societal Order
that works for the
good o f the Whole.
Did James Earl
Ray act as a lone
assassin or was
he just a patsy in
a major con
spiracy to kill
Martin Luther
King, Jr. The
verdict is now in.
For more on this,
see page
C14 and 15.
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