The Commemoration of Rosa Parks

 

Copyright: Ebony Magazine

The Commemoration of Rosa Parks

            The historical context associated with commemorating Rosa Parks tells the narrative that she refused to give up her seat for a white male which resulted in a one-year boycott of bus transportation and gained the attention from the supreme court that declared segregation on public buses as unconstitutional. Author Ken Coleman (2022) of the Colorado Newsline utilizes this narrative format stating, “Rosa Parks, became a civil rights icon after her refusal during the Jim Crow era to surrender her seat on a public bus so that a white passenger could sit there” (paras. 1). Coleman’s article commemorates Rosa Parks by providing a timeline of Rosa Park’s life and accomplishments, such as the 1965 Cabo Hall event in Detroit to honor Rosa Parks and declaring December 1^st as Rosa Park’s Day.

In fact, Rosa Parks is commonly referred as “one of the most famous women in the Civil Rights movement”, “known as the mother of the Civil Rights movement”, “a catalyst” and “indispensable to the success of the black freedom movement” (Williams, 2022) as author Stephen Williams of the Philadelphia Tribune described her. Williams’ article, “Rosa Parks was on the front lines of a movement that re-made America”, portrays Rosa Parks in the context that resulted to the supreme court declaring segregation on public transport unconstitutional. Williams (2022) states “Parks’ actions “started a whole cycle of events” (paras. 22).

Overall, the two articles give meaning to Rosa Parks’ story by attaching a lesson of the past. The lesson learned in Rosa Parks’ story emphasizes how courage and bravery can set forth transformative repercussions. In addition, analogies are used to compare Rosa Parks’ actions to the actions of Claudette Colvin who had refused her seat to a white man prior to Parks’ refusal but did not gain the national attention compared to Parks.

            Furthermore, the two articles apply what Zelizer introduces as “synecdoche” in “Covering the Body: The Kennedy Assassination, the Media and the Shaping of Collective Memory”. Zelizer (1992) defines synecdoche as “the narrative strategy by which the part “stand in” for the whole – allowed journalists to borrow the authority occurred from having covered events and apply it to events they did not experience” (p. 4). Considering the two authors, Williams and Coleman, were not actively present that day Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, the reliance of professional statements (ie. Vicki Crawford, Danielle McGuire, Ashley Jordan, etc.) proves to be beneficial in establishing the authors own credibility in authority. However, the differences between the two articles are that Coleman provides a more descriptive detail of Rosa Parks’ life so that the reader can truly encompass Rosa Parks as an individual and her lifelong work in activism. On that same notion, Williams structured their article to illuminate the consequences of Parks’ actions after her refusal to give up her seat.

            In conclusion, I believe Rosa Parks is remembered respectfully in the news media as the historical figure that pressed the supreme court to question segregation in public transportation. Her action, her choice, and her resilience is archived by news media as a catalyst in the civil rights movement. I argue that Rosa Parks is represented in the same light one would portray Mother Teresa: a motherly, wholesome symbol for hope.

 

 

 

References

Coleman, Ken. On this day in 1913: Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks is born. Colorado Newsline. Feb 4, 2020.

Williams, Stephen. Rosa Parks was on the front lines of a movement that re-made America. The Philadelphia Tribune. Jan 17, 2022.

Zelizer, B. Covering the Body: The Kennedy Assassination, the Media, and the Shaping of Collective Memory. The University of Chicago Press. Chicago and London. 1992.