A Rosa Parks Tribute to My Mother who Followed her Steps*
Gary Norris Gray
11.7. 05

As this nation paid tribute to one that provided an opportunity for Americans to reflect on the impact that one single act has upon the fabric of this country, the question becomes this: Are we fulfilling the creed on which this country was founded? 

Rosa Parks has become a legend to all Americans throughout the world.  She showed us that one person can make a difference; one person can make a change. She also showed us that African Americans have to put forth that extra effort and go that extra mile. Mrs. Parks stressed that African Americans must take time to create new hopes and new dreams.  

On December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks boarded a municipal bus after a very long and struggling workday as a seamstress. She boarded the bus to take her home and sat in the middle of the bus because she was so weary and so tired. She just wanted to go home and rest. Ms. Parks was not thinking about changing America. But at that moment she became The Mother of the Civil Rights Movement and carved her place in history. She  continues to make history even in death by being the first woman to ever lie in state at the Capitol Rotunda.  

Ms. Park stood tall and firm when a white bus driver told her she would have to make way for a white male passenger. She did not move, did not budge, did not say a word.

The driver then told her that he would have to summon the Montgomery Police Department. Ms. Parks responded, “Then do what you must” She remained in her seat and waited her fate. Sister Parks was sitting for Emmitt Till; Sister Parks was sitting for our forefathers and mothers who fought for freedom even during slavery. Sister Parks was sitting for African Americans not yet born. She was sitting as a proud African American woman not willing to give up her seat because of an unjust and immoral law. Her act escalated the modern Civil Rights movement. 

Mrs. Parks act forced Americans to look into the mirror and see their injustices. America was forced to make a decision:  Would they be part of the problem or the solution to the problem in making life better for all Americans? She made it a personal question. She sent a clarion call; a call to all Americans that reminded them that we are all citizens of this great nation and should be treated as such.  

Montgomery’s African American Community responded by refusing to ride Montgomery’s municipal buses. Black men, women, and children walked, they carpooled, and they rode bicycles to get to their destinations. For  383 days they boycotted Montgomery buses.  

The passing of Rosa Parks exposes the current Civil Rights Movement struggles and the fact that it is not finished; IT IS NOT OVER! The fight must continue until it is complete. The Civil Rights movement will not end until there is complete equality in the United States. Equality should be available to women, the disabled, ethnic minorities, and gay and lesbians citizens. This is what Mrs. Rosa Parks wanted and what America should pursue. 

When people are given equal rights they become empowered. African Americans are still in pursuit of political and economic empowerment. Unfortunately, it is still evading most African Americans.  But we can make a difference; we have made history already. 

My mother did it by fighting for me to attend “normal school.” She fought on two fronts: disability and race. She did it again in 1968 at a laundromat in New Orleans. There was a sign in the window that stated, “WHITES ONLY.”  Then fourteen years old and living in the Deep South for the first time, that was my first conscious experience with racism.  I saw the sign and thought this: What a waste of time and money washing only white clothes. But my mother informed me later that the sign meant that only white people were allowed to use that establishment. But she just walked into the laundromat with my sister, put her clothes in the washer, and left. Everybody in that place stopped and stared. A Black person had never used the machines in that laundry mate. My mother made that change. 

Another barrier that my mother was instrumental in changing was at Cape May High School. As she watched white cheerleaders cheer for the football and basketball teams, which were predominately Black, she decided they should have a sister (African American) on the squad to represent Blacks. It took three years, but my mother finally joined the Cape May High School Cheerleading Squad. My mother carried on this fight in the early 1940’s. 

In the early 1970’s the Burlington City High School Black History Club wanted to celebrate Black Heritage. A request was made for a Black History week instead of a Black History Day. A silent protest was formed with most of the African American students participating in a sit-in at the school’s auditorium. The administration of Burlington City High School granted a Black History week. Two years later after many hours of negotiations, Black History week became Black History Month. 

And near here in Richmond, CA, African American citizens have formed a community action group to stop the violence in that city. Men, woman, and young Richmond High School students have joined forces to make the city of Richmond a better place to live.  Everywhere, the fight for freedom and justice must continue into the next decade and follow the footsteps of Rosa Louise Park. We must make a change.  

I THANK ROSA PARKS FOR SETTING AN EXAMPLE FOR ALL AMERICANS, AND I THANK MY MOTHER WHO FOLLOWED IN HER STEPS TO MAKE A CHANGE THAT MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE TO ME!

_________
*Gibbs salutes Rev. Joan H. Gray, Pastor , Bensalem AME Church, Teacher Special Education, Edenton, North Carolina and Burlington City, New Jersey, mother of Gary Norris Gray--a disabled person who amazes me each day with his energy, his mind, and his willingness to accept his disability as little more than a hurdle that any sportsman, as he is, overcomes daily. Gary redefines disabled as I know it; he is one of the most active persons I know--able-bodied or disable-bodied..  In standing up for him and all people as you did, you put something in your son that has allowed him to help many able-bodied and disabled-bodied persons of all races across this nation. Rev. Gray, you stood up for us all. And your actions, through your son and beyond him, made a difference in the thinking and behavior of so many. And for that I salute you on behalf of all your son's readers. 

Having known Gary, it would have been a grave loss to have lived and not known him. [Frank A. Jones, CEO of Gibbs]

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