(AP) DETROIT (Oct. 24) - Rosa Lee Parks, whose refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man sparked the modern U.S. civil rights movement, died at age 92.

Mrs. Parks died Monday at her home of natural causes, said Karen Morgan, a spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat.

Mrs. Parks was 42 when she committed an act of defiance in 1955 that was to change the course of American history and earn her the title "mother of the civil rights movement."

At that time, segregation laws in place since the post-Civil War Reconstruction required separation of the races in buses, restaurants and public accommodations throughout the South, while legally sanctioned racial discrimination kept blacks out of many jobs and neighborhoods in the North.

The Montgomery, Alabama, seamstress, an active member of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was riding on a city bus Dec. 1, 1955, when a white man demanded her seat.

Mrs. Parks refused, despite rules requiring blacks to yield their seats to whites. Two black Montgomery women had been arrested earlier that year on the same charge, but Mrs. Parks was jailed. She also was fined $14.

Speaking in 1992, she said history too often maintains "that my feet were hurting and I didn't know why I refused to stand up when they told me. But the real reason of my not standing up was I felt that I had a right to be treated as any other passenger. We had endured that kind of treatment for too long."

Her arrest triggered a 381-day boycott of the bus system organized by a then little-known Baptist minister, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who later earned the Nobel Peace Prize for his work.

"At the time I was arrested I had no idea it would turn into this," Mrs. Parks said 30 years later. "It was just a day like any other day. The only thing that made it significant was that the masses of the people joined in."

The Montgomery bus boycott, which came one year after the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark declaration that separate schools for blacks and whites were "inherently unequal," marked the start of the modern civil rights movement in the United States.

The movement culminated in the 1964 federal Civil Rights Act, which banned racial discrimination in public accommodations.

After taking her public stand for civil rights, Mrs. Parks had trouble finding work in Alabama. Amid threats and harassment, she and her husband Raymond moved to Detroit in 1957. She worked as an aide in Conyers' Detroit office from 1965 until retiring on Sept. 30, 1988. Raymond Parks died in 1977.

Mrs. Parks became a revered figure in Detroit, where a street and middle school were named for her and a papier-mache likeness of her was featured in the city's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Mrs. Parks said upon retiring from her job with Conyers that she wanted to devote more time to the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development. The institute, incorporated in 1987, is devoted to developing leadership among Detroit's young people and initiating them into the struggle for civil rights.

"Rosa Parks: My Story" was published in February 1992. In 1994 she brought out "Quiet Strength: The Faith, the Hope and the Heart of a Woman Who Changed a Nation," and in 1996 a collection of letters called "Dear Mrs. Parks: A Dialogue With Today's Youth."

She was among the civil rights leaders who addressed the Million Man March in October 1995.

In 1996, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded to civilians making outstanding contributions to American life. In 1999, she was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation's highest civilian honor.

Mrs. Parks received dozens of other awards, ranging from induction into the Alabama Academy of Honor to an NAACP Image Award for her 1999 appearance on the CBS television drama series "Touched by an Angel."

The Rosa Parks Library and Museum opened in November 2000 in Montgomery. The museum features a 1955-era bus and a video that recreates the conversation that preceded Parks' arrest.

"Are you going to stand up?" the bus driver asked.

"No," Parks answered.

"Well, by God, I'm going to have you arrested," the driver said.

"You may do that," Parks responded.

Mrs. Parks' later years were not without difficult moments.

In 1994, Mrs. Parks' home was invaded by a 28-year-old man who beat her and took $53. She was treated at a hospital and released. The man, Joseph Skipper, pleaded guilty, blaming the crime on his drug problem.

The Parks Institute struggled financially since its inception. The charity's principal activity - the annual Pathways to Freedom bus tour taking students to the sites of key events in the civil rights movement - routinely cost more money than the institute could raise.

Mrs. Parks lost a 1999 lawsuit that sought to prevent the hip-hop duo OutKast from using her name as the title of a Grammy-nominated song. In 2000, she threatened legal action against an Oklahoma man who planned to auction Internet domain name rights to www.rosaparks.com.

After losing the OutKast lawsuit, attorney Gregory Reed, who represented Mrs. Parks, said his client "has once again suffered the pains of exploitation." A later suit against OutKast's record company was settled out of court.

She was born Rosa Louise McCauley on Feb. 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama. Family illness interrupted her high school education, but after she married Raymond Parks in 1932, he encouraged her and she earned a diploma in 1934. He also inspired her to become involved in the NAACP.

Looking back in 1988, Mrs. Parks said she worried that black young people took legal equality for granted.

Older blacks, she said "have tried to shield young people from what we have suffered. And in so doing, we seem to have a more complacent attitude.

"We must double and redouble our efforts to try to say to our youth, to try to give them an inspiration, an incentive and the will to study our heritage and to know what it means to be black in America today."

At a celebration in her honor that same year, she said: "I am leaving this legacy to all of you ... to bring peace, justice, equality, love and a fulfillment of what our lives should be. Without vision, the people will perish, and without courage and inspiration, dreams will die - the dream of freedom and peace."
__________________________________________________

A true pioneer who isn't appreciated enough by today's generation. May she rest in peace. frown

[ October 24, 2005, 08:02 PM: Message edited by: ltskinmdterp ]

I don't know what to say. Sometimes it's easy to forget how far we've come and how much we take for granted. It's amazing to me that, that not so long ago people could legally tell me where I could sit, eat, or go to school just because of the color of my skin. Kudos to Mrs. Parks for saying enough was enough in her own quiet way.

We owe a great deal to people like Mrs. Parks. I'm glad that she took a stand, or a sit, that day. Thanks Rosa.

It was very sad to hear this news. This woman really did get the ball rolling when it comes to civil rights. It may have started out with racial inequality, but through the years, it has transcended to all aspects of inequality in our society. She paved the way, eventually, for gays to come out of the closet. We owe this woman a lot. Sometimes, change comes about in very small steps. The step she took seemed small at the time, but grew into one of the hugest steps for our nation. Finally, we began to live up to the saying "all are created equal". Thanks for the sacrifice Rosa, and most importantly, thanks for having the courage to take that first step. You are a true American hero. Rest in Peace.

People get old, their bodies wear out, and eventually the physical self dies. I am profoundly sad that Rosa Parks died today. I choose to remember her bravery and her quiet resolve. In a small defiant act, she made her mark on this world. She was one of my heros. One of the highlights of my life was meeting her in person. Rosa Parks the person is no longer with us, but her spirit is here and is with me. If there is a heaven, it is her new address.

yes, blkbear, there is a heaven. the popcorn is always hot, crunchy, buttery, and salty, but just so, not too much. and everyone sits around watching the theatre of the absurd that is life here on earth.

and i am sure that when rosa got to the pearly gates, st. peter took great pride in escorting her to her seat -- in the front row!

She was an amazing example - THE example - of how a single act of courage can change the world.

Thank you, Rosa Parks, and Rest In Peace.

She was definitely one of my heroes, she and all the other courageous individuals who stood up in protest of America's apartheid system, and helped to change it piece by piece. She's one of America's great hero(in)es, too. God bless you/may the gods bless you, Rosa Parks!

Thank God for the gift of Rosa Parks. May she be as effective in her new life at making us better as she was in this one.

She truly left the world a better place than it was when she arrived.
Here's an interesting side note. I just read today that she was not the first. The NAACP was preparing to defend another young woman, this one only 15, who refused to give up her bus seat. Then it was learned she was pregnant (and presumably not married) so was not considered a good model. Sadly, they were probably right; Rosa Parks, like Jackie Robinson, had to be above reproach even from hypocrites in every aspect of her life. And was.

Yes, RIP, Mother Parks. For me, she was singularly inspiring because she epitomized the power of the INDIVIDUAL to act and inspire others to act as well, as many in the gay rights movement have recognized. Link to story.

I think I first heard of Rosa Parks while reading John Howard Griffin's chronicle of racism in Black Like Me, a popular book back in the late 60s. I was always impressed by Rosa Parks' simple but brave act of defiance on the bus, but didn't realize the extent of her later involvement in the civil rights movement. The article linked by gmginsfo also shows Rosa Parks' support for gay equality.

Was that really ten years ago?? It sure doesn't seem that long. Anyway, I remember the controversy over Louis Farrakhan at the time (a fellow known for his hostility towards gays), but this article suggests that he is trying to be more conciliatory:
Louis Farrakhan meets black gay leaders

Yes, but Mrs. Parks was also actively involved in community civil rights organizations. She and her husband were members of the NAACP, they had courageously participated in voters' drives (remember that Medgar Evers was assassinated in 1965 in Mississippi for doing so), and--GASP!--she had even attended the leftist Highlander Folk School in Monteagle, Tennessee! While she made the decision, after years of humiliation and degradation not to go sit at the back of the bus or give up her seat to a white person on her own, she was fully aware and participating in the larger civil rights movement. Her action famously precipitated the organization of the Montgomery Improvement Association, whose leader was another truly extraordinary American, Martin Luther King, Jr.

It often starts with ONE,
but we can't end oppression on our own.

I'm not sure if you missed the subsequent posts on Keith's blog, but a Christian reverend, Willie Wilson, barred Keith from speaking at the Millions More March. Farrakhan did allow another Black homosexual leader, Cleo Manago, who rejects the terms "gay," "lesbian," etc., because he believes that they describe and speak only to mainstream, White gay people (who often act as if racism has ended and don't take non-White people into account) to speak. Manago was invited to speak and did so. Manago uses the term "same-gender-loving." The denial of Keith's invitation to speak--which some people affiliated with the Nation of Islam are claiming was never an invitation in the first place--and Manago's address have cast light on a rift among some Black gay/sgl people, and there's quite a bit of discussion about it on many email listserves. (I know Keith and would tend to believe his take on the issue.)

[ October 25, 2005, 11:25 PM: Message edited by: fantomas ]

I just assume that Farrakhan's views on gays isn't changed. He's trying to look conciliatory and/or he's just using whatever "leaders" he's meeting with for his own purposes (i.e. promoting his Millions More movement).

Thanks, fantomas, for reminding people that Rosa Parks was a dedicated activist before she took that stand.

And let's remember that conservatives (Bill Buckley and Burnin' in Hell Rehnquist, for example) were against integration in the '50s, whatever they're saying now.

Speaking of reminders, here's one that the GOP isn't as racist as Messrs. Buckley and Rehnquist were claimed to be back in the '50s. Interesting that the article quotes only Democrats, even though both Houses are controlled by Republicans and the resolution passed with voice votes in each. Rosa Parks to lie in state in Capitol.

Will she lie in the front of the Capitol or the back?

[ October 28, 2005, 11:47 AM: Message edited by: Munson Man ]

We can all hypocrites at times. Perhaps you meant racists. Either way, it is an interesting point. And reminds me that there was a lot happening that prepared the ground for the movement.

Attitudes and courage of conviction to make changes that eliminate an unfairness (picking up history at a period of time):

1. Truman's order to integrate the armed forces. Think that was in 1948.

2. Branch Rickey's decision to reintegrate baseball, along with Jackie Robinson's decision to be the one to walk in the shoes, in 1948, joined later that year by Larry Doby in the American League.

3. The pressure for change that came from within the community regarding inequalities in education, some of which were oriented to getting more funding, others with a hope, but probably not expectation, of getting integration of the public schools. 1951 Prince Edward County, Virginia, student boycott, among others that led to Brown v. Topeka.

4. The NAACP's decision to attack segregation through the courts, culminating in the 1954 Brown decision that struck down "separate but equal".

5. The murder of Emmitt Till in 1954 or 1955 in Mississippi, and the choice by his mother to have an open casket funeral, to show the brutality done to her 14 year old son. The Negro press used the power of the pen to put attention on the atrocity, not letting the truth be "whitewashed."

6. Black men who for decades had to act like stereotypes, who nevertheless knew they were men, and carried themselves with dignity, loving their wives with honor, and raising their kids with love, even without being able to control the greater society, which prepared masses of people to stand up in face of oppression and possibly even attack. Men who were often derided later for acting like "uncle toms" by people who didn't know any better.

Rosa Parks was a formidable women. She was a spark. The tinder was there, several sparks had landed. With the bus boycott in Montgomery, the flame arose not to be extinguished.

[ October 28, 2005, 12:23 PM: Message edited by: Good Hands ]

I am more amazed that no woman has ever lain in honor as Ms. Parks will, or that she will be the only second non-white person to do so, and the first was just a few years ago (one of the two police officers killed when the schizophrenic man tried to rush the Capitol).

Although I don't like the media referring to her actions as the "birth" of the Civil Rights Movement - as the movement had really begun in earnest in the 30s, and so many victories at the federal level were won prior to the Montgomery boycott - it is true that the boycott began the most active phase of the movement, and certainly the time when change happened the most rapidly. While she may have been chosen as the perfect symbol to launch the boycott, she handled the role with dignity and kindness, and went on to do so much for her adopted community of Detroit.

In many ways her lying in honor is a testimony to the entire generation of civil rights activists who exposed the raw nerve of racism in this country and tried to change it - that they were only partially successful in no way detracts from the tremendous courage and dedication of them all.

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Rosa Parks' protest. As a tribute, all buses in the city of Montgomery, Alabama will leave one seat open today.

I heard about that and I thought it was a kind gesture. I believe a statue was dedicated in her honor today in Washington D.C. Finally, Bush gets something right.