Page 10
The
Portland Observer Black
History Month
February 11, 2015
Letters Written by Rosa Parks
continued
from page 7
"Let us look at Jim Crow for the
criminal he is and what he had done
to one life multiplied millions of times
over these United States and the
world," Parks wrote in 1956. "He
walks us on a tight rope from birth..."
She also reflects on feeling iso-
lated in a world of legalized segrega-
tion: "I want to feel the nearness of
something secure. It is such a lonely,
lost feeling that I am cut off from life.
I am nothing, I belong nowhere and
to no one. There is just so much
hurt, disappointment and oppres-
sion one can take. The bubble of life
grows larger. The line between rea-
son and madness grows thinner."
According to Battle, Parks was a
"prolific writer," constantly jotting
down the things that bothered her
and made her happy.
"Writing things down was a way
of releasing some of that pressure,"
she said, noting Parks' stress from her
Born Perfect!
continued
from page 6
such as letters to elected officials on
behalf of the proposed measure and
other legislation they hope to push
forward this legislative session, in-
cluding a Youth Mental Health Pro-
tection Act, an end to racial profiling,
a ban on questions on prior convic-
tions for employment, an increase of
arrest, the subsequent unfolding of
the Montgomery bus boycott, and
losing her job as an assistant tailor at
the Montgomery Fair department
store. Parks held on to much of this
writing - not to mention postcards,
invitations, poll tax receipts, and hand-
written recipes - throughout her life.
The artifacts spent years in limbo due
to a legal dispute between her family
and the institute she founded.
Parks died in 2005 at age 92.
Her papers, which go on display
to the full public next month, will sit
alongside the papers of George
Washington, Thomas Jefferson,
Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. An-
thony and Thurgood Marshall at
the Library of Congress.
"One of the reasons she held on
to all of this material is because, at
some point, she wanted people to
know the real her," Battle theorized.
"Years later, we can tell the whole
story. History can be rewritten to
include more information."
the Oregon minimum wage, and a
pledge for more earned sick days for
workers.
All community members are wel-
come to attend the open house on
Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. at the
Basic Rights Oregon offices, located
at 310 S.W. Fourth Ave., Suite 300,
downtown. Dinner will be provided.
The location is wheelchair acces-
sible and provides easy access by
public transit.