This week we lost one of the most prolific figures in American history and a true hero. Rosa Parks did what so many people want to do…she took a sit. But unlike most of us her action put her at great risk and led to an unprecedented movement of people standing up for the rights of others.
The Boston Globe remembers Ms. Parks this way:
It was Dec. 1, 1955, when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Ala., a city where segregation and racism danced freely and legally in the streets and blacks were supposed to sit in the back.
Thanks to Parks, who died at home in Detroit on Monday at the age of 92, the back of the bus has never been the same. Now people sit there because they want to or because there are no other seats. This change helped free America from its worst self.
As many people have pointed out, Rosa Parks made a simple decision that sparked a revolution. Let this be reminder to all of us. There are still so many causes worth fighting for, so many civil rights waiting to be defended by regular people performing simple, heroic actions. The world today desperately waits for the next Rosa Parks to take a sit against poverty, slavery, injustice against children, AIDS, homelessness, pornography, violence, racism, and gender inequality to name just a few. Where will you choose to SIT DOWN? What revolution is waiting for your spark? What will you be remembered for?
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