Rosa Parks, American Hero

I was flipping channels on the TV the other night and I was privileged to listen to some of Rosa Parks memorial service on CSPAN. (Actually I was enjoying a few moments of control of the remote while my husband and kids ran out to the store to buy some dog-food. I immediately flipped through the news channels and came upon the memorial service. I relinquished control soon after they came back, after several queries from my 13 year old son: "Do we have to watch this?" So much for my quick news fix.) I was struck by one of the speakers who recounted that Rosa Parks had told her that she was inspired to stand up for her rights and the rights of others on that day in Alabama because she had attended Christian camp meetings all summer. She heard daily from the preachers that "You are a child of God, and your life can make a difference." She chose to believe that gospel message. She said she heard that line whispered in her ear by a small voice as she was confronted by the bus driver and told to give up her seat to a white male. She was a child of God and her life did make a difference. At the right moment in time God used a shy black woman to influence the world for good. She could have backed down and taken the path of least resistance but she chose to stand up for justice and the Constitution of the United States of America, to be a lightening rod for social change. I also learned in that brief time I listened to her memorial service that others had stood up before her and been arrested but it was different this time because she chose to plead "not guilty" to the charges. She believed the current segregationist laws to be unjust and unconstitutional. The constitution of the United States declares that "all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator..." I thank God for women like Rosa Parks and the legacy that they leave to all generations of faith and courage in the face of injustice. I pray for courage like that. I am inspired to study more about her life and to make sure that my children know about her and her struggle for rights that seem so far removed from us today. We would still have Jim Crow with us if men and women of courage had not stood up against injustice.