Friday
Oct 28, 2005
SGN.org
Volume 33
Issue 43
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Tuesday, Dec 02, 2008
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Rosa Parks is remembered by local and national pro-LGBT organizations |
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| Rosa Parks is remembered by local and national pro-LGBT organizations | ||
| "Her actions led to a movement that continues to this day, which is about respecting all of humanity," said POCAAN's Kiande Jakada.
By Robert Raketty - SGN Staff Writer Rosa Parks, often considered the "mother of the civil rights movement," passed away of natural causes on Monday, October 24, at the age of 92. This week, both national and local pro-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender organizations praised Parks for a lifetime of honorable service to humanity. In 1955, Parks, then a 42-year-old seamstress, refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus to a white man, a violation of local segregation laws. Her arrest, fine and the subsequent 381-day bus boycott that followed, led to landmark litigation and the dawn of the civil rights movement of the 1950's and '60's. U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove, in her retelling of the history surrounding Parks' simple act of civil disobedience, said that "...she has been with us ever since [1955], a persistent symbol of human dignity in the face of brutal authority." This week, Rev. Jesse Jackson remembered Parks by stating, "She sat down in order that we might stand up." Parks has also been credited for inspiring the women's movement, the anti-war movement and the LGBT equal rights movement. New Paltz, New York, Mayor Jason West and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom both invoked Parks' name when explaining their decisions to authorize the marriages of same-sex couples in their jurisdictions. "The people who would forbid Gays from marrying in this country are those who would have made Rosa Parks sit in the back of the bus," said West last year. LOCAL REACTION People of Color Against AIDS Network's Kiande Jakada told the Seattle Gay News this week that Parks' is about "respecting all of humanity" and described her as both a "pioneer and trailblazer" in the civil rights movement. "Her courage and dedication is an inspiration to anyone dedicated to equality for all people," she said. "Her actions led to a movement that continues to this day, which is about respecting all of humanity. "She remains and inspiration to the work that we do as it relates to tearing down walls and removing stigmas associated with various communities of people. Her work was not done in vain. The spirit never dies." The Seattle Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center's Airen Lydick said that the organization eagerly joins "countless others in celebrating her life and her now famous act of resistance to oppression." "We at The Center join in the celebration of Rosa Parks and so many other individuals who have worked together in communities connected by resistance to oppression and desire for a more welcoming world," said Lydick. "As so many people continue the work of building movements of and toward liberation from oppression, the memory of this act of resistance might serve as a reminder of the presence and power of individual voices in the struggles for social change. "Also, it is important to honor both the entirety of Rosa Parks' work in social change movements and also the communities in which she and others worked - networks of people rich with support, courage, innovation, strategy and strength of character." Rev. Gwen Hall, pastor of Sojourner Truth Unity Fellowship in Seattle, told her congregates in an e-mail this week that "[i]t is a sad day in our community" and that Parks "was the catalyst that galvanized our community." "In a country that is attempting to turn back the hands of time; to the apartheid that is no stranger to those of us over 40," said Hall, "We can best honor her memory by taking part in the election process and educating our community about the ancestors on whom shoulders we no stand... Rosa is now an ancestor, let us, be proud of her legacy." NATIONAL REACTION The Human Rights Campaign, one of the largest national LGBT organizations, issued a statement on Tuesday. "With one simple yet extraordinary action, Rosa Parks made our nation a better and fairer place for all Americans," said HRC President Joe Solmonese. "By insisting on the dignity and respect every human being deserves, Parks boldly moved the country toward fairness. "Parks didn't stop on the bus, but kept going, working throughout her life to make the world a better place. With her passing, a true legend is lost, but an inspiring imprint will always remain." National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director, Matt Foreman, also issued a statement this week about Parks' passing: "When Rosa Parks refused to give her seat up to a white man on December 1, 1955, she demonstrated extraordinary courage in the face of daily mistreatment and systemic injustice experienced by African-American men, women and children, not just in Alabama but all across the country. "Parks, who was 42 at the time, met this shameful situation with determination, vision and vigor. Her quiet activism inspired the tens of thousands who recognized her individual act as a broader symbol against racism, segregation and the contemptible Jim Crow laws that long tarnished our nation. A 26-year-old minister named Martin Luther King, Jr. was among the courageous many who rose with Parks to stand against racial injustice, spawning the Montgomery bus boycott and the subsequent ruling that found segregation on transportation to be unconstitutional. "This collective courage profoundly changed America. Rosa Parks' legacy will live on for generations, providing inspiration for all those striving to extinguish the inequalities that continue to plague us, from racial and economic injustices to discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender." In a written statement on Tuesday, the National Stonewall Democrats Executive Director Eric Stern said, "The quiet life of Rosa Parks left a resounding testimony to the American ideal. When equal rights are guaranteed by a government, but denied by those who govern, it is the responsibility of the citizen to stand and demand justice. When Rosa Parks affirmed her rights as a citizen, she transformed the civil rights movement and American law." The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network's Executive Director, C. Dixon Osburn, warned "[t]here may be many buses ahead of us yet," but we have the "stellar example of Rosa Parks' gracious activism to guide and inspire us." "Our nation has lost an important civil rights leader whose work strove for the equality of all Americans," said Osburn. "Ms. Parks' historic act of defiance and her subsequent social justice work has been an inspiration to everyone in the civil rights community. She was among the first soldiers in the battle equality." Parks is survived by a large extended community of family and friends. Condolences in the form of cards and flowers should be sent to: Rosa & Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development, 65 Cadillac Square, Suite 2200, Detroit, Michigan 48226. |
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