Coretta Scott King and Rosa Parks Leave Legacy
By Brother Rogers
The deaths of Coretta Scott King this week and Rosa Parks last October mark the passing of two American icons. In a country whose history books mainly celebrate the deeds of white men – whose accomplishments I celebrate and do not denigrate – it is worth noting the significance of the impact of these two black women.
Parks inspired a generation to fight for civil rights in 1955 when she refused to give up her seat to a white person on a Montgomery, Alabama bus. As many have said, “She stood up by sitting down.” This humble woman’s courageous act 50 years ago ignited the civil rights movement that led to the breakdown of racial segregation in the United States.
According to one newspaper account, “She challenged the white establishment in Alabama and the rest of the South to end their racist ways, and she challenged the rest of the country to live up to its ideals. But those weren’t the greatest of her accomplishments. Her greatest achievement was to challenge other black Americans to rise up and say: No more.”
Parks made history even in death. She became the first woman, and only the 30th American, to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C.
Parks was the spark that lit the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which transformed a little-known pastor named Martin Luther King, Jr. into the leader of a mass movement for dignity, justice and equality for all American citizens.
Coretta Scott King was with her husband every step of the way throughout the civil rights movement. She was there when he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and walked beside him in the famous Selma to Montgomery march in 1965 to gain voting rights for African Americans. After his assassination in 1968, she became the singular figure most responsible for keeping the memory of his deeds alive, most notably through the national holiday that bears his name.
One of my favorite old spiritual songs says, “May the work I done for You speak for me.” The work of these godly women makes them heroes, not just black heroes, but American heroes like Washington and Lincoln. They helped us form a more perfect Union.
We certainly have not solved all of our racial problems. But the passing of Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King is an occasion to remind ourselves how very far we’ve come. Whether voting on election day or watching a Starkville High School football game on a Friday night or eating in one of Starkville’s many new restaurants, we unconsciously benefit from the legacy of these two towering American women. May our tribute to them be a commitment to complete the unfinished business they left behind.
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News and works at the Stennis Center for Public Service.
The deaths of Coretta Scott King this week and Rosa Parks last October mark the passing of two American icons. In a country whose history books mainly celebrate the deeds of white men – whose accomplishments I celebrate and do not denigrate – it is worth noting the significance of the impact of these two black women.
Parks inspired a generation to fight for civil rights in 1955 when she refused to give up her seat to a white person on a Montgomery, Alabama bus. As many have said, “She stood up by sitting down.” This humble woman’s courageous act 50 years ago ignited the civil rights movement that led to the breakdown of racial segregation in the United States.
According to one newspaper account, “She challenged the white establishment in Alabama and the rest of the South to end their racist ways, and she challenged the rest of the country to live up to its ideals. But those weren’t the greatest of her accomplishments. Her greatest achievement was to challenge other black Americans to rise up and say: No more.”
Parks made history even in death. She became the first woman, and only the 30th American, to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C.
Parks was the spark that lit the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which transformed a little-known pastor named Martin Luther King, Jr. into the leader of a mass movement for dignity, justice and equality for all American citizens.
Coretta Scott King was with her husband every step of the way throughout the civil rights movement. She was there when he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and walked beside him in the famous Selma to Montgomery march in 1965 to gain voting rights for African Americans. After his assassination in 1968, she became the singular figure most responsible for keeping the memory of his deeds alive, most notably through the national holiday that bears his name.
One of my favorite old spiritual songs says, “May the work I done for You speak for me.” The work of these godly women makes them heroes, not just black heroes, but American heroes like Washington and Lincoln. They helped us form a more perfect Union.
We certainly have not solved all of our racial problems. But the passing of Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King is an occasion to remind ourselves how very far we’ve come. Whether voting on election day or watching a Starkville High School football game on a Friday night or eating in one of Starkville’s many new restaurants, we unconsciously benefit from the legacy of these two towering American women. May our tribute to them be a commitment to complete the unfinished business they left behind.
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News and works at the Stennis Center for Public Service.
