REMEMBERING ROSA PARKS

Rosa Parks died Monday at her home in Detroit of natrual causes. She was 92.

Many younger people may not recognize the name, or may have just heard it a few times. But Mrs. Parks was an icon to the fight for civil rights and equality for all America's citizens, whose single action helped spark a movement that continues today.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was a department store worker in Montgomery, Alabama. She was a member of the local NAACP chapter and active in the voter registeration movement. On that day, Mrs. Parks sat down in the front row of the "Colored" section of a segregated city bus. As the vehicle filled up, she and three other passengers were ordered by the driver to stand up to allow white passengers to sit. Mrs. Parks refused to do so, and was arrested. She was convicted of disorderly conduct and fined $14, but her action resulted in a boycott of the city's municipal bus service that lasted nearly 13 months which was led by a young 26 year old minister, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Mrs. Parks moved to Detroit after receiving threats and losing her job because of her activism. She joined the staff of Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D - MI) when he was elected in 1964, later co-founding an institute to help young people pursue educational opportunities and become involved through registering to vote and working for racial harmony and also becoming a well-demanded member of the lecture circuit. She is also the author of the 1992 book "Rosa Parks: My Story".

She is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal, among numerous other honours.

Her influence not only has been felt in America, but around the world, as this piece from today's Detroit News remembers:

When former South African President Nelson Mandela visited Detroit in 1990, the elder statesman was overcome with emotion as he greeted Parks.

"Tears filled his eyes as he walked up to the small, old woman with her hair in two silver braids crossed atop her head," wrote Brinkley in the Parks biography.

"And, in a low, melodious tone, Mandela began to chant "Rosa, Rosa Parks. Rosa Parks." Mandela, along with Parks, made Time magazine's "100 Most Influential Persons of the 20th Century" list in 1999. Also honored were King and Mohandas Gandhi.

Parks inspired freedom seekers of all backgrounds, including Japanese-Americans who sought reparations for their internment in camps in the United States during World War II.

"The whole reason we're here," said Ron Wakabayashi, a former commissioner of the Los Angeles Commission on Human Relations, "is not because she was treated badly, but because she responded to it so courageously."