Civil Rights in Alabama
Posted by Mark Sullivan on Sunday, June 26, 2011
Under: Travel
For the past few days, I've been traveling around Alabama with my small group from the Philippines. Our stop in Alabama was part of our program because a key interest was the study of civil rights issues for African-Americans. Alabama, I've come to discover, was the center of the Civil Rights Movement, when it all started with the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1956, I believe. With visits to the Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham and the National Center for the Study of Civil Rights in Montgomery, I've learned that the events in Montgomery were the triggers for the civil rights movement as a whole.
Though Rosa Parks refusal to move to the back of the bus, in order to make room for white passengers was a critical moment, was certainly pivotal, there were also feelings arising among the African-American community prior to this historic event. We learned from a Professor of history at Alabama State University that there was a feeling of "irritation" and anger among black in Montgomery of certain segregation policies; the one that angered most blacks was the law to sit in the back of public buses. This angered blacks more than anything. I learned that it was "humiliating" for most blacks to make room for whites, and just to be treated as second-class citizens. While listening to stories of humiliation, including black passengers being dragged alongside of the bus because the drivers pulled away too quickly, I couldn't help but think that if I had to sit in the back of the bus because of the color of my skin, I would just generally be PISSED OFF. But the amazing thing is that blacks went along with this policy for such a long time. Getting inside the minds of an oppressed people is not easy for me, to say the least.
I watched a reenactment of the Rosa Parks bus event at the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery. It just made me feel uncomfortable - just seeing the white people in front feeling uncomfortable because of the situation, but all the black people in the back just wondering what the hell was going on. I was thinking while watching the reenactment that it just seemed like an ordinary day and an ordinary event -- i.e. just another black person misbehaving or commiting another crime -- but it set off a series of events which can now be seen as the most important for equal rights for African-Americans. It would have been so easy for her to just get up and move to the back; it seems difficult for her to just stay put and refuse the bus drivers' demands. I learned from our tour guide that Rosa Parks actually didn't like the bus driver because, 12 years earlier, he kicked her off the bus for some strange reason. I think part of the reason she didn't get up was her negative feelings towards the bus driver.
There was some confusion about the intentions of Rosa Parks, and some people have learned that she was encouraged by the NAACP (with whom she was a member, and a secretary for E.D. Nixon, a prominent civil rights leader in Montgomery), to not give up her seat and be sent to prison. However, some historians have asserted that she acted on her own and she wasn't part of a conspiracy. Whatever her intentions, she was contacted by civil rights leaders after the event while in prison (including E.D. Nixon) and was asked to be a part of their movement against the segregationist bus policies.
What struck me while listening to all of these stories was the amount of organization and solidarity among the African-American community during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. On the day of Ms. Parks trial, flyers were sent out to all black residents in Montgomery NOT to ride the public buses on that day. I saw a picture of a bus with only one white women riding it -- the bus companies were actually losing tons of money because black passengers wouldn't ride. Blacks started walking to work, at times up to five to seven miles, and didn't ride the buses for over a year. The black community then organized and created their own private taxi system to transport blacks to/from work (door-to-door service, have you). This system was much more efficient than the public transportation system and blacks got to/from work quicker and cheaper.
I often forgot that small actions can create such monumental changes in the world. Having a bit of courage, and a will to follow it, can create change, even if we don't really realize it at that particular moment. I think it's important for everyone to be aware, whether black, white, latino, asian, or whatever race, the courageous acts that the people before us did in order for us to live in a, well, generally more equal society. It makes me think that there are many times that we come across situations, laws, rules, policies, or ideas, which we don't necessarily agree with and with which we're too afraid to stand up to and fight against; a case in point may be security checkpoints at airports. what are those men and women in TSA uniforms really thinking about when they encounter a middle eastern women in a headdress? well, in the end, it doesn't matter what we think, but what we say and the way we act. When will I, you, or we be aware of those rules which "irritate" us and refuse to conform to what society expects us to do?
Though Rosa Parks refusal to move to the back of the bus, in order to make room for white passengers was a critical moment, was certainly pivotal, there were also feelings arising among the African-American community prior to this historic event. We learned from a Professor of history at Alabama State University that there was a feeling of "irritation" and anger among black in Montgomery of certain segregation policies; the one that angered most blacks was the law to sit in the back of public buses. This angered blacks more than anything. I learned that it was "humiliating" for most blacks to make room for whites, and just to be treated as second-class citizens. While listening to stories of humiliation, including black passengers being dragged alongside of the bus because the drivers pulled away too quickly, I couldn't help but think that if I had to sit in the back of the bus because of the color of my skin, I would just generally be PISSED OFF. But the amazing thing is that blacks went along with this policy for such a long time. Getting inside the minds of an oppressed people is not easy for me, to say the least.
I watched a reenactment of the Rosa Parks bus event at the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery. It just made me feel uncomfortable - just seeing the white people in front feeling uncomfortable because of the situation, but all the black people in the back just wondering what the hell was going on. I was thinking while watching the reenactment that it just seemed like an ordinary day and an ordinary event -- i.e. just another black person misbehaving or commiting another crime -- but it set off a series of events which can now be seen as the most important for equal rights for African-Americans. It would have been so easy for her to just get up and move to the back; it seems difficult for her to just stay put and refuse the bus drivers' demands. I learned from our tour guide that Rosa Parks actually didn't like the bus driver because, 12 years earlier, he kicked her off the bus for some strange reason. I think part of the reason she didn't get up was her negative feelings towards the bus driver.
There was some confusion about the intentions of Rosa Parks, and some people have learned that she was encouraged by the NAACP (with whom she was a member, and a secretary for E.D. Nixon, a prominent civil rights leader in Montgomery), to not give up her seat and be sent to prison. However, some historians have asserted that she acted on her own and she wasn't part of a conspiracy. Whatever her intentions, she was contacted by civil rights leaders after the event while in prison (including E.D. Nixon) and was asked to be a part of their movement against the segregationist bus policies.
What struck me while listening to all of these stories was the amount of organization and solidarity among the African-American community during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. On the day of Ms. Parks trial, flyers were sent out to all black residents in Montgomery NOT to ride the public buses on that day. I saw a picture of a bus with only one white women riding it -- the bus companies were actually losing tons of money because black passengers wouldn't ride. Blacks started walking to work, at times up to five to seven miles, and didn't ride the buses for over a year. The black community then organized and created their own private taxi system to transport blacks to/from work (door-to-door service, have you). This system was much more efficient than the public transportation system and blacks got to/from work quicker and cheaper.
I often forgot that small actions can create such monumental changes in the world. Having a bit of courage, and a will to follow it, can create change, even if we don't really realize it at that particular moment. I think it's important for everyone to be aware, whether black, white, latino, asian, or whatever race, the courageous acts that the people before us did in order for us to live in a, well, generally more equal society. It makes me think that there are many times that we come across situations, laws, rules, policies, or ideas, which we don't necessarily agree with and with which we're too afraid to stand up to and fight against; a case in point may be security checkpoints at airports. what are those men and women in TSA uniforms really thinking about when they encounter a middle eastern women in a headdress? well, in the end, it doesn't matter what we think, but what we say and the way we act. When will I, you, or we be aware of those rules which "irritate" us and refuse to conform to what society expects us to do?
In : Travel