Talk:Rosa Parks

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Contents

[edit] Archived

  • Archive 1: Opening comments, Outkast, Gordon Parks' sister?, Date of settlement of lawsuit, Middle name, Montgomery Boycott, 382 days, or 381 days?, language..., Jackie Robinson, African-American?, 2005 Deaths, Where did she die?, Front of the bus time Mrs Parks, good info here, Seamstress?, This article is mediocre, Outkast Lawsuit - What is it?, Famous image, The white man, Deletion, When was the photo taken?, New Picture, Lee vs Louise, Does anyone know Rosa's family's address?, Sympathy, Browder v. Gayle, POV, Death and funeral, removed half of lead, News coverage of funeral, Montgomery Bus Boycott Section, Photos of Fingerprints, etc., King County Metro tribute, What is needed to get this article to featured, Vandalism, Ideal or not - nominate already, Metro sticker, Removed section: "Presidential Medal of Freedom Award Ceremony" + Presidential Medal of Freedom Award Ceremony, Which photos to junk, Clarification of 1964 Photo, Main page FA?, Nice Work!, Question, Horrible citation style, Be Nice!, Correction needed, Race, Article decaying before our eyes

[edit] Reviewing the last 500 edits

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rosa_Parks&diff=34145162&oldid=29717012

There have been almost 500 edits since this entry was on the front page. I am pleased to see that almost every modification helped the article. The writing is stronger, and a glaring lacuna, the legacy of the boycott for movements worldwide (still meager), was filled. I am going to remove the new long quote from her friend. It isn't informative and would be the third quote explaining her motivation.

Lotsofissues 01:06, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Question

Click on the "Edit" link next to the header of the section you are replying in. Then move the edit cursor to the point beneath the comment you're trying to reply to, and type your response, beginning the line with a colon (:) if you want it to be indented (multiple colons to indent further; it's traditional to indent one level further than the thing you're responding to). At the end of your comment, type four tildes (~~~~) to cause the comments to be signed. *Dan T.* 00:44, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] which Peace Prize?

OK, so a quick check at [1] reveals that indeed Rosa Parks did not ever win the Nobel Peace prize. And a Google search [2] comes up with around 150 hits for Rosa Parks Peace Prize. But try to find out anything about this prize and you won't get very far. Most intersting, an article [3] from the New York Times, dated 1994-11-07, states "The organizers of One Day of Peace, a Swedish-American festival, told Mrs. Parks on Friday they were creating the Rosa Parks Peace Prize and would ask her to help in choosing its first winner next year, the 40th anniversary of her historic refusal..."

Can anyone shed any more (verifyable) light on this? Nick Levine 17:02, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Civil disobedience question

I know this question is probably going to be offensive to some, but I don't mean it that way, and I really would appreciate an answer. The article mentions that there was some thirty minute trial. Now, if there was a trial at all, it seems that would imply that Parks pled not guilty, or in some way contested the punishment. If she pled not guilty, that would imply that she was either claiming 1) that she didn't commit the act she was accused of, or 2) she committed that act, but that act was not illegal. (The third possibility, that she was planning to purely aruge jury nullification isn't mentioned.) Either of those would seem to disqualify it as an act of civil disobedience. In civil disobedience, you non-violently disobey a law you believe to be unjust as a means of resisting that law. I don't think she argued 1), that she "didn't really sit in that bus seat after being ordered to move". If she argued 2), that would disqualify it as an act of civil disobedience. How can you say, "I'm disobeying this law, but what I'm doing isn't really illegal." ? So what exactly happened at the trial? What was there to contest that would be consistent with "civil disobedience" of unjust laws? (Again, apologies if this sounds mean-spirited.) MrVoluntarist 18:37, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

I presume her argument was that she was, indeed, violating a law, but the law was unconstitutional. To make such a case, one must enter a not guilty plea. And, certainly, it is considered civil disobedience to refuse to obey a law one considers unconstitutional. - Jmabel | Talk 16:58, 29 March 2006 (UTC)
As the poster above mentioned, you left out a third (or fourth, depends on how you count) option: she believe that in illegal law attempted to make her action illegal. If she had plead guilty, most likely there would have been no trial as the judge would have just accepted the fine proposed by the DA and convicted her. Since she plead not guilty, a trial is necessary which gave her the opportunity to put her story on record. She was still convicted but the record the case produced was important for subsequent cases. sebmol 16:22, 31 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Geordie Richter?

I think someone has vandalized the top of the page.

As you can imagine, this is an often-vandalized article. Usually fixed pretty fast, but you obviously hit it at a moment when it wasn't. - Jmabel | Talk 18:45, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] quotes section

I have removed the section containing the following content:

  • "The only thing that bothered me was that we waited so long to make this protest."

One, it is unsourced and so brief it would be better placed in the text in an appropriate location rather than extending the TOC. Two, it should be at wikiquote in any case, with one of those neat boxes placed here with the others. - BT 15:28, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "Recalled"

Recently added (indicated here by italics): "she later recalled that she had attended a mass meeting in Montgomery which focused on this case as well as the recent murders of George W. Lee and Lamar Smith." Why "later recalled"? Is there any doubt that she had attended the meeting? This wording tends to suggest that her recall perhaps should not be trusted: otherwise we would simply state it all as fact, as we do most things. - Jmabel | Talk 20:50, 19 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 1943 incident

The description of the first run-in in 1943 with James Blake requires a citation, since it disagrees with other versions. The James F. Blake article suggests that Parks decided not to reboard, whereas this one suggests that he drove off before she could. 70.226.111.52 16:56, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] A very minor honor

Cut from the "Honors and awards" section: "On May 15, 2006, Pascal Obispo's album 'les fleurs du bien' features a song named 'Rosa', tribute to Rosa Parks." I'd have fixed the bad writing if that were all that were wrong with this. Doesn't seem particularly notable (there are many more notable songs about Parks) and I'm not even sure what it means to say that an album features a song on a particular date: so, like, three days later it no longer featured it? - Jmabel | Talk 19:35, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Minor edit: Seamstress

Currently, it says Parks was "an African American seamstress and civil rights activist whom the U.S. Congress dubbed the "Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement". I'm swtiching the order so it reads, "Rosa Parks was an African American civil rights activist and seamstress whom the U.S. Congress dubbed the "Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement". It seems pretty obvious that she was a civil rights activist first and a seamstress second, regardless of the popular image. I don't see any reason not to make a bold edit. Kennard2 04:08, 29 January 2007 (UTC) ily

[edit] Browder vs Gayle...

I was reading this article, when I noticed that at the end of "Browder vs. Gayle" someone added: lol rosa parks is kewl

The comment is extremely out of place, and I was trying to remove it, but I don't log in often enough to be "trusted". Can someone fix that? It really detracts the quality of the article.

Thanks!!

Sultanita 04:37, 10 February 2007 (UTC) Maria

Done. Thanks for pointing it out. Ben Aveling 10:04, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Merge discussion

A discussion on Montgomery Bus Boycott suggests that it should be merged into this article. I think that information on this article, (e.g. "Events leading up to the boycott") should be moved to the boycott page, as it isn't directly about Mrs. Parks. OverMyHead 15:22, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Minor Vandalism

Changed sentence- Parks is famous for her refusal on December 1, 1955 to obey bus driver James Blake's demand that she relinquish her seat to a white man. Too dis-obey bus diver Blake's demand that she relinquish her seat to a white man.--McNoddy 09:01, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Correction.

(Correction. She refused to obey, not to disobey--McNoddy 11:11, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Incorrect date

I'm not a registered user, and I wouldn't have any idea how to change this offhand, but I noticed what I believe is an error in this article. The caption to the photograph of Mrs. Parks being fingerprinted by Deputy Lackey lists the date as December 1, 1955. This is almost certainly not correct. A strikingly similar image was published in the February 23, 1956 issue of the New York Times, in which Mrs. Parks is being fingerprinted by the same deputy, and wearing the same suit, as in the photo in this article. This booking was in connection with the mass arrests on illegal boycotting charges of the boycott's leaders, beginning on February 22, 1956. It seems incredible that Mrs. Parks would be printed and booked by the same deputy, while wearing the same suit, on two occasions three months apart. Mrs. Parks explicitly denies, in her autobiography, that the famous photo of her being printed is from the first arrest, as many have thought or asserted. She makes no mention of press attending her first arrest and booking, and why would the press turn out to cover a Negro seamstress getting busted for a misdemeanor? And, as a final bit of evidence, the caption did give February 22, 1956 as the date of the photograph in earlier versions of the article. Someone must, at some point, have helpfully edited the caption without realizing that the photo was from Mrs. Parks' subsequent arrest. 198.45.18.28 18:40, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

This was discussed way back when Mrs. Parks passed away and fixed, but it looks like the inaccuracy crept back in. The NY Times link in that previous discussion states that it is from the 22nd, as well. Thanks for making a note of it. - BanyanTree 05:30, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Apple Computer tribute (25th Oct 2005)

Apple Computer placed a large tribute to Rosa Parks on their homepage on the day after her death, resurrecting their 'Think Different' campaign. Link: http://web.archive.org/web/20051026002259/www.apple.com/ - could/should this be referenced? I admit it's only minor, but may be worth noting.. Garethpeate 21:28, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Image tags for arrest record

There are two images of her arrest record - the first is tagged with "This image may not have the proper copyright or licensing information. An experienced editor should contact the uploader and add the proper tag, or discuss the issue on the talk page."

The second has no such tag and is seemingly fair use Federal government. Why the difference???--Dumarest 20:47, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Honors

  • Wasn't Rosa Parks' funeral in Grand Rapids, Michigan? There's a place downtown called Rosa Parks circle. It's an outdoor theater in the urban, artistic area.

[edit] There were times when the bus departed...

From the article:

"If white people were already sitting in the front, black people could board to pay the fare, but then had to disembark and reenter through the rear door. There were times when the bus departed before the black customers who had paid made it to the back entrance."

Did this actually ever happen? Does anyone have a citation for this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.130.187.19 (talk) 23:44, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Rosa Parks

Rosa Parke Middle School in Onley, Maryland is the most wellknown School named after Rosa Parks. It is the most well known because it is the only school named after her that she actually visited prior to her passing. Rosa Parks Middle School in Onley, Maryland also is home to some of he worlds smartest students and has a 5 star rateing on the teachers, the facilities, and the students that are involved with the school. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.55.188.200 (talk) 00:00, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Earlier Parks - Blake run in

The info on the earlier Parks - Blake run in is somewhat unclear and contradictory. According to the James F. Blake which is supported by the Guardian reference from there she paid, tried to go to her seat but was ordered to get off and reboard at the back which she did at which point he drove off before she could reboard at the back. According to this article, she dropped her purse and sat on a 'white-only' seat while picking it up. This infruated him so much that he drove off without her when she got off to reboard at the back. Of course perhaps both of these happen but it would be best if this could be clarified with further sourcing. Nil Einne 14:17, 1 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Communist

Shouldn't there be something in here about how she was a member of the Communist party and had the entire event planned? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.187.4.81 (talk) 23:32, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

Agreed. Despite the popular (and misleading) conception of this action as "spontaneous", it was indeed planned by activists in the community. She attended the Highlander Folk School in Tennessee and had been involved in the Civil Rights Movement for many years prior to this event. I could dig up some sources, but do you have any available? Njfuller (talk) 21:44, 21 February 2008 (UTC)
  • This seems like a good resource for correcting some of the myths. Note that it wasn't planned to be deceptive. The popular myths about Parks' refusal to move were the product of later storytellers. --Dystopos (talk) 19:10, 16 March 2008 (UTC)

ROSA PARKS

[edit] Terrorists

In two places, this article describes politically-motivated criminal violence as "terrorism" or its perpetrators as "terrorists". Wikipedia's Manual of Style recommends against using this word. (See Wikipedia:Words to avoid#Extremist, terrorist and freedom fighter.) Even though the actions described do fit many people's definitions of terrorism, we do have good reasons to prefer more neutral descriptions.

The first case is the sentence, "Some segregationists retaliated with terrorism.". In this instance, substituting ... with violent crime would probably work pretty well, or just ... violently, since it's pretty obvious from the context that the actions are reprehensible violent crimes.

The second sentence is as follows: "However, more violence erupted following the court order, as snipers fired into buses and into King's home, and terrorists threw bombs into churches and into the homes of many church ministers, including Martin Luther King Jr.,'s friend Ralph Abernathy."

Here we see snipers and terrorists, when what's meant is attempted murderers armed with guns and bombs. A sniper is a trained soldier, not any ol' jackass with a rifle. Yes, the word is used casually to mean any distance shooter, but we're an encyclopedia and we should write more precisely than that.

Possibly we could go for something like: "However, more violence erupted following the court order. Gunmen fired into buses and King's home, and bombs were thrown into churches and ..."

Anyway, just a thought. --71.146.45.156 (talk) 09:08, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Photo caption wrong...

My 9 year old daughter, Olivia, just read Rosa's autobiography and caught an error on one of the photo captions in this article. She was very excited to point out to me that the photo of Rosa being fingerprinted wasn't of Rosa being printed immediately following her arrest as the caption intimates, but, rather, it was of Rosa much later, following indictments that were handed down upon discovery by local law enforcement officials of a law against boycotts.

Rosa points out in her autobiography that this photo was incorrectly labled in it's original printing in the Montgomery Advertiser, was then picked up by wire services around the world, and has been commonly mislabled ever since.

So how do we get the photo caption updated? I attempted to edit the caption but this article is frozen. Can anyone help me understand how to get the caption updated to read, "... being fingerprinted following her indictment for organizing the bus boycott"?

Thanks. -Richard and Olivia B. -- Oliviasdad830 (talk) 03:06, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

  • I've corrected the caption and added a reference for the photograph's date to the image page. Thanks for the heads up. --Dystopos (talk) 19:07, 16 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Race

Race: IT is ignorant and perhaps insulting to call Rosa Parks an African-American---when she is an American of the highest degree. She is as are other people of color who are US Citizens: American-Black(or "Mulatto" African). The rationale for this is that an African American is someone who lives in South Africa who is from the US, is white , black, oriental et al. and at least since 1700 there are other races on the Continent of Africa besides the Negro race. While we can not speak for Mrs. Parks; I think that she would agree to remove the race issue here and just call her a great American (and if need be 'of color'). However if she prefered as the great Sachmo did ---she could be refered to as a Black American or simply the same of the Negro race. The problem here is complicated because Rosa was really a mulatto of Caucasian Heritage. Liberians who can trace there ancestory to slave households of the United States at the time of the great repatriation of Blacks occured, and the founding of Liberia, could call themselves 'African Americans' but most do not. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.197.125.31 (talk) 20:49, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

I've been described as Irish-American all my life. Meaning: an American whose ancestry is Irish or partly Irish. By the same token, Rosa Parks is an African-American, meaning an American whose ancestry is African or partly African. As for "mulatto", that is an unacceptable term, just as "half-breed" and "mongrel" are unacceptable terms. Tom129.93.16.177 (talk) 16:06, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Personal Life

Why isn't there a personal life section for Rosa Parks??? Was she ever married? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.176.16.204 (talk) 10:49, 5 March 2008 (UTC)

yes. she was married.her last name wasn't always "parks". her birth name was Rosa Louise McCauley.<3-16-08>

[edit] Why

why isn't thee a rosa parks day???????????<3-16-08> --24.228.15.14 (talk) 18:46, 16 March 2008 (UTC)

  • Because congress hasn't seen fit to bestow that honor to date. --Dystopos (talk) 18:51, 16 March 2008 (UTC)