Black History Month: February 2022
To recall and celebrate the positive contributions to our nation made by people of African descent, American historian Carter G. Woodson established Black History Week beginning on Feb. 12, 1926. In 1976, as part of the nation's bicentennial, the week was expanded into Black History Month.
TODAY'S SPOTLIGHT ON
ROSA PARKS
Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist, social reformer and a racial justice advocate. She was born on February 4th, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. After her parents divorced, she moved to Montgomery, where she had to deal with segregation and laws she didn't agree with. Rosa got involved with the NAACP and the Montgomery Voters League.
On December 1st, 1955, when Rosa, was riding a bus home from her job, the bus filled up and she was expected to give up her seat for a white man. When Rosa refused, she was arrested for violating Alabama's segregation laws. This started the Montgomery bus boycott, which lasted for 381 days and resulted in the ending of segregation on Montgomery's buses.
The boycott also brought national attention to the civil rights cause and to a young minister, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Rosa Parks continued her commitment to civil rights until her death.
She died on October 24, 2005, at her Detroit home of natural causes. She was 92.
TRIVIA
- Rosa married Raymond Parks, a barber from Montgomery, In. in 1932.
- In 1943 Rosa joined the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP and became active in the Civil Rights Movement.
- Rosa had gotten into an argument with bus driver James F. Blake before, back in 1943.
- Rosa was arrested and charged with a violation of Chapter 6, Section 11 segregation law of the Montgomery City code.
- Martin Luther King Jr. later wrote about the importance of Rosa Parks in providing a catalyst for the protests, as well as a rallying point for those who were tired of the social injustices of segregation.
- President George W. Bush issued a proclamation ordering that all flags on U.S. public areas should be flown at half-staff on the day of Parks' funeral.
- In 2013, Rosa Parks became the first African American woman to have her likeness depicted in National Statuary Hall.
- Rosa was forced to leave Montgomery soon after the boycott.
- In 1957 Rosa, along with her husband and mother, moved to Detroit, where she eventually worked as an administrative aide for Congressman John Conyers, Jr., and lived the rest of her life.
- In 2005, bus seats were left empty to honor Rosa on the 50th anniversary of her arrest.
- In 2013, Rosa was featured on a new civil rights stamp
LITTLE KNOWN FACTS ABOUT ROSA PARKS
SHE WAS ARRESTED A SECOND TIME: On February 22nd, 1956, Parks was arrested a second time with close to 100 of her fellow protesters for breaking segregation laws during the Montgomery bus boycott. The famous photograph of Parks being fingerprinted by a police officer came from this second arrest, though it’s often mistakenly thought to show her first.
THE FIRST WOMAN LAIN IN STATE AT THE U.S. CAPITOL: Following her death in 2005, Parks was lain in state under the Capitol rotunda. The honor is reserved for the country’s most distinguished citizens—usually ones who have held public office. Parks remains the only woman and one of just four private citizens to receive the honor.
THE FOUNDER OF LITTLE CAESARS PAID HER RENT FOR YEARS: After surviving a robbery and assault in her Detroit apartment in 1994, Parks was in need of a new place to live. Mike Ilitch, the founder of Little Caesars, heard of the plan and offered to cover her rent for as long as she needed it. He and his wife Marian ended up paying for Parks to live in a safer apartment until her death in 2005 at the age of 92.
SHE WASN'T THE FIRST BLACK WOMAN TO GIVE UP HER SEAT: Just nine months before Parks made history in Montgomery, a 15-year-old named Claudette Colvin was arrested in the same city for not moving from her bus seat for a white passenger. Colvin was the first person taken in custody for violating Montgomery's bus segregation laws.
QUOTES
On not moving to the back of the bus: “No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”
On being determined: “I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.”
On racism: “Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.”
On how she wanted to be remembered: “I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free… so other people would be also free.”
(BrainyQuotes.com)
TODAY IN BLACK HISTORY:
- In 1794, France abolishes slavery.
- In 1913, Rosa Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama.
- In 1964, Austin T. Walden became Georgia's first black Judge since reconstruction.
- In 1986, a stamp of Sojourner Truth is issues by the U.S. Postal Service.
- In 1996, J.C. Watts becomes the first African American selected to respond to the State of the Union address.
- In 2005, Ossie Davis, who was married to Ruby Dee and was also an American writer, actor, director, and social activist known for his contributions to African American theatre and film and for his passionate support of civil rights and humanitarian causes, dies.
- In 2007, Tony Dungy becomes the first African American head coach to win the Super Bowl when his Colts defeated the Chicago Bears on February 4th.
- In 2016, Earth, Wind & Fire founder Maurice White dies at age 74 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH QUESTION OF THE DAY:
Hiram Revels, the first African-American U.S. senator, took his oath of office on which date?
A. May 6, 1935
B. February 25, 1870
C. January 11, 1910
The answer is B: February 25, 1870.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH FACT OF THE DAY:
In 1940, Hattie McDaniel was the first African-American performer to win an Academy Award for her portrayal of a loyal slave governess in Gone With the Wind.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH SPOTLIGHT: ANDREW BO YOUNG III
Andrew Bo Young III is making black history by changing the way we give back. Andrew, 38, is the CEO of Givelocally.net — a website that helps everyday Americans get their basic needs met. The site pre-screens and posts the needs of Americans on the site and gives users a chance to search by the type of need, family, state and donate money to help. The site was created in 2010.
null
BLACK HISTORY MONTH EXTRAS
Rosa Parks' mini bio:
