1 955 65438+February1When tailor Parks was sitting on the bus, the driver asked the black man to give up his seat to the white man.
This has nothing to do with the virtue of "respecting the old and loving the young". In the southern United States, where apartheid still prevails after the American Civil War, the law clearly stipulates that blacks must give up their seats to whites in public places such as buses and restaurants. In the north, legally recognized racial discrimination also keeps blacks out of many industries and communities.
Parks refused the driver's request. Although two black women were arrested in Montgomery earlier that year for the same experience. This time, without exception, Parks was imprisoned and fined 10 USD.
Her arrest triggered a 3,865,438+0-day black bus boycott in Montgomery. The organizer was Martin Luther King, an unknown Baptist minister at that time. This name was later honored as an anti-apartheid fighter and a Nobel Peace Prize winner. As a result of this campaign, the Supreme Court ruled in 1956 that "black-and-white segregation" is prohibited on buses; 1964 the civil rights act prohibits racial segregation and discrimination in public places. Parks has since been known as the "mother of the civil rights movement" in the United States. Thirty years later, she recalled that year: "I didn't expect it to be like this when I was arrested. This is just an ordinary day. It is only because of the participation of the general public that it is of great significance. " [ 1]
She died on June 24th, 2005. 10. On the 30th, her body was transported to the US Capitol in Washington, and placed in the hall for the American people to pay their respects. American political leaders, including President george walker bush, and thousands of people attended the groundbreaking ceremony. The pastor of the Senate led everyone to pray for her, and a university choir came specially to sing the patriotic song "The Warsong of the Republic" on the spot. She is the first woman in American history to put her body in Congress for public viewing. The President also ordered that Parks' funeral 1 1.2 will be held in Detroit, when all public buildings in the United States will be flown at half mast. Today, the United States was largely formed in the 1960s. Parks was named "the mother of civil rights" by the US Congress.
Of course, the first person who thanked Parks most was black. The words of US Secretary of State condoleezza rice at the memorial service are the most representative: "Without Parks, I wouldn't be standing here today as Secretary of State." At the same time, Parks is also deeply loved by white people, because her campaign for black people's rights has shaped the spirit of social justice and justice in the United States and won a better living environment for most Americans.
Parks' honor comes from a simple fact: one person can change the world.