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1
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[ Applause ]
2
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-We're back, and let's meet
our next team of challengers.
3
00:00:26,401 --> 00:00:28,820
Number one.
What is your name, please?
4
00:00:28,862 --> 00:00:31,656
-My name is Rosa Parks.
5
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-Number two.
6
00:00:32,866 --> 00:00:35,035
-My name is Rosa Parks.
7
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-And number three.
8
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-My name is Rosa Parks.
9
00:00:38,329 --> 00:00:39,831
-Once again, panel,
these three ladies
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00:00:39,873 --> 00:00:42,042
all claim to be civil rights
champion Rosa Parks,
11
00:00:42,083 --> 00:00:44,044
and let's start the
questioning with Kitty Carlisle.
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-Number two, what led up to this
glorious moment on that bus?
13
00:00:49,591 --> 00:00:52,552
-How did you feel
at the moment of arrest?
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[ Bell dings ]
-That bell tells us
15
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the time is up.
And now, of course,
16
00:00:55,388 --> 00:00:56,806
it's time to vote whoever,
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00:00:56,848 --> 00:00:59,267
in your opinion,
is the real Rosa Parks.
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-I voted for number two,
19
00:01:01,144 --> 00:01:03,104
and it's just based
on a feeling.
20
00:01:03,146 --> 00:01:04,647
She just has that gentleness,
21
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I think, that would
allow to be defiant.
22
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-Okay.
-Any one of these three ladies
23
00:01:09,069 --> 00:01:11,029
could have had the courage,
and I'm ashamed to say,
24
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I don't really know
which one it really is,
25
00:01:13,198 --> 00:01:14,574
but I voted for number two.
26
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-All right.
And Nipsey, who got your vote?
27
00:01:16,451 --> 00:01:19,120
-Well, I'll have to
disqualify myself.
28
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I know Mrs. Parks,
29
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and I was one
of the entertainers on that show
30
00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:26,586
between Selma and Montgomery,
31
00:01:26,628 --> 00:01:28,713
but Ms. Rosa Parks
is 10 foot tall,
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and she's a legend
and a hero
33
00:01:30,715 --> 00:01:32,592
in the democracy
of the United States,
34
00:01:32,634 --> 00:01:34,636
not just among black people.
35
00:01:34,678 --> 00:01:36,930
[ Applause ]
36
00:01:36,971 --> 00:01:42,769
-And now, will the real
Rosa Parks please stand up?
37
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[ Applause ]
38
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-The first lady of the movement,
Mrs. Rosa Parks.
39
00:02:03,373 --> 00:02:05,792
Raise your hand.
40
00:02:05,834 --> 00:02:08,294
-Reverend Abernathy and all
of my brothers and sisters
41
00:02:08,336 --> 00:02:11,881
and my children, because I have
been called the mother of this,
42
00:02:11,923 --> 00:02:14,968
we are not in a struggle
of black against white,
43
00:02:15,010 --> 00:02:18,179
but wrong and right.
44
00:02:18,221 --> 00:02:22,058
-Rosa Parks is arguably one
of the most celebrated Americans
45
00:02:22,100 --> 00:02:23,560
of the 20th century
46
00:02:23,601 --> 00:02:26,479
and arguably one of
the most kind of distorted
47
00:02:26,521 --> 00:02:28,857
and misunderstood.
48
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-You see before you now
49
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a victim of all that has been
perpetrated against one
50
00:02:34,237 --> 00:02:37,282
to make us less than human.
51
00:02:37,323 --> 00:02:41,286
-Yes, we all understand that she
went and sat down on the bus.
52
00:02:41,327 --> 00:02:45,957
The narrow narrative of her
just on one day did something --
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We need to dispel that.
54
00:02:48,418 --> 00:02:51,963
-I am handicapped in every way,
55
00:02:52,005 --> 00:02:55,175
but I am expected to be
a first-class citizen.
56
00:02:55,216 --> 00:02:56,509
I want to be one.
57
00:02:56,551 --> 00:02:59,804
Of course,
last few days in Selma,
58
00:02:59,846 --> 00:03:02,766
actually I almost lost
the faith.
59
00:03:02,807 --> 00:03:05,060
And I said to myself
I could not come here,
60
00:03:05,101 --> 00:03:09,522
seeing what had happened
in Selma, armed with only love.
61
00:03:09,564 --> 00:03:11,066
-If they could see her
62
00:03:11,107 --> 00:03:13,276
talking about
the Republic of New Afrika.
63
00:03:13,318 --> 00:03:16,780
If they could see her out there
with the Panthers in Oakland.
64
00:03:16,821 --> 00:03:21,910
If they could see her in all
of these fragrant varieties
65
00:03:21,951 --> 00:03:23,411
of her personality,
66
00:03:23,453 --> 00:03:26,164
then they would understand
the real Rosa Parks,
67
00:03:26,206 --> 00:03:29,292
but they might have been
just a little bit frightened.
68
00:03:29,334 --> 00:03:30,710
-Yeah
69
00:03:30,752 --> 00:03:32,796
-Please, Lord,won't you bind my hands?
70
00:03:32,837 --> 00:03:35,799
'Cause I don't wantto hurt nobody
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00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,385
Oh, Lord,won't you guide my soul?
72
00:03:38,426 --> 00:03:41,388
'Cause I don't want to actungodly
73
00:03:41,429 --> 00:03:43,556
Oh, Lord, won't you helpmy soul?
74
00:03:43,598 --> 00:03:46,726
These heathenswant to steal my faith
75
00:03:46,768 --> 00:03:49,396
I really need some self-control
76
00:03:49,437 --> 00:03:52,399
I'm trying not to fallfrom grace
77
00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:55,026
Lord, please, won't you helpmy soul?
78
00:03:55,068 --> 00:03:56,695
Come strengthen my faith
79
00:03:56,736 --> 00:03:58,863
Strengthen my faith
80
00:04:02,409 --> 00:04:04,452
-Yeah
81
00:04:12,794 --> 00:04:15,797
-"I have never been
an integrationist.
82
00:04:15,839 --> 00:04:17,507
Even when there was segregation,
83
00:04:17,549 --> 00:04:20,176
there was plenty of integration
in the South,
84
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but it was for the benefit
and convenience
85
00:04:22,721 --> 00:04:26,307
of the white person, not us.
86
00:04:26,349 --> 00:04:28,685
It is the discontinuation
of oppression
87
00:04:28,727 --> 00:04:31,730
for all people
who are oppressed.
88
00:04:31,771 --> 00:04:33,773
All people
should be treated equally,
89
00:04:33,815 --> 00:04:38,028
regardless of race, religion,
or nationality."
90
00:04:41,364 --> 00:04:43,616
-As a very small child,
I had to hide
91
00:04:43,658 --> 00:04:47,620
from the Ku Klux Klan
to keep from getting killed
92
00:04:47,662 --> 00:04:49,789
or thinking
I was going to be killed.
93
00:04:49,831 --> 00:04:52,042
My family were deprived
of the land
94
00:04:52,083 --> 00:04:54,002
that they owned
and driven off of it
95
00:04:54,044 --> 00:04:55,962
after they'd worked
and paid for it.
96
00:04:56,004 --> 00:05:00,592
I did not have the opportunity
to attend school as many have.
97
00:05:07,599 --> 00:05:09,142
-The early 20th century,
98
00:05:09,184 --> 00:05:11,978
this is the period that is often
referred to as the Nadir,
99
00:05:12,020 --> 00:05:14,814
the low point,
in African American history.
100
00:05:14,856 --> 00:05:16,399
And some people even argue
101
00:05:16,441 --> 00:05:19,611
that it's a period
worse than slavery.
102
00:05:19,652 --> 00:05:23,406
-"By the time I was 6,
I was old enough to realize
103
00:05:23,448 --> 00:05:26,034
that we were actually not free.
104
00:05:26,076 --> 00:05:29,662
The Ku Klux Klan was riding
through the black community,
105
00:05:29,704 --> 00:05:32,957
burning churches,
killing people.
106
00:05:32,999 --> 00:05:34,793
I later learned
that it was because
107
00:05:34,834 --> 00:05:38,797
African American soldiers
were returning from World War I
108
00:05:38,838 --> 00:05:40,840
and acting as if they deserved
equal rights
109
00:05:40,882 --> 00:05:44,886
because they had served
their country.
110
00:05:44,928 --> 00:05:47,972
At one point,
the violence was so bad
111
00:05:48,014 --> 00:05:52,852
that my grandfather kept his gun
close by at all times.
112
00:05:52,894 --> 00:05:55,480
My grandfather was going
to defend his home
113
00:05:55,522 --> 00:05:57,107
whatever happened.
114
00:05:57,148 --> 00:05:59,776
I wanted to see him
shoot that gun."
115
00:06:01,945 --> 00:06:04,531
-She would be telling me
about the grandfather
116
00:06:04,572 --> 00:06:09,077
and how he wasn't afraid
of white people.
117
00:06:09,119 --> 00:06:15,250
He looked white, but he wasn't
afraid of white people.
118
00:06:15,291 --> 00:06:18,378
-"My grandfather's father was
a white plantation owner
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00:06:18,420 --> 00:06:23,299
named John Edwards, and his
mother was a slave housekeeper.
120
00:06:23,341 --> 00:06:26,094
My grandfather was close
to white.
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00:06:26,136 --> 00:06:29,180
She died when my grandfather
was very young,
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00:06:29,222 --> 00:06:32,058
and then John Edwards died, too.
123
00:06:32,100 --> 00:06:34,519
An overseer took over
the plantation,
124
00:06:34,561 --> 00:06:36,896
and he disliked my grandfather,
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00:06:36,938 --> 00:06:39,983
treated him so badly
that he had a very intense,
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00:06:40,025 --> 00:06:42,902
passionate hatred
for white people.
127
00:06:42,944 --> 00:06:45,864
My grandfather was the one
who instilled in my mother
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00:06:45,905 --> 00:06:49,617
that you don't put up with
bad treatment from anybody.
129
00:06:49,659 --> 00:06:53,038
It was passed down
almost in our genes."
130
00:06:54,873 --> 00:06:58,793
-He had his shotgun ready,
and I sat up with him all night,
131
00:06:58,835 --> 00:07:02,339
and I still have
a chronic insomnia
132
00:07:02,380 --> 00:07:06,676
from some of the things I lived
through when I was a child.
133
00:07:06,718 --> 00:07:10,430
-If you were out there on guard
at night,
134
00:07:10,472 --> 00:07:13,350
you ain't making no noise.
135
00:07:13,391 --> 00:07:16,770
She understood you protected
what was important to you.
136
00:07:16,811 --> 00:07:21,775
And Rosa got the idea that,
"I want to change
137
00:07:21,816 --> 00:07:24,402
that what makes me have
138
00:07:24,444 --> 00:07:26,488
to need to be protected."
139
00:07:26,529 --> 00:07:29,657
White supremacy was the threat.
140
00:07:50,512 --> 00:07:55,100
Her brother was, I think, two
and a half or something younger.
141
00:07:55,141 --> 00:07:58,269
-"Sylvester followed me
around all the time.
142
00:07:58,311 --> 00:08:00,480
He was always into mischief,
143
00:08:00,522 --> 00:08:02,857
but I was very protective
of him."
144
00:08:02,899 --> 00:08:04,317
-They were coming home one day
145
00:08:04,359 --> 00:08:08,530
and were being taunted
by a young white boy.
146
00:09:06,087 --> 00:09:09,966
-"I would rather be lynched
than say 'I don't like it.'
147
00:09:10,008 --> 00:09:12,469
I cried bitterly
that I would be lynched
148
00:09:12,510 --> 00:09:14,387
rather than be run over
by them.
149
00:09:14,429 --> 00:09:17,557
They could get the rope ready
for me any time they wanted
150
00:09:17,599 --> 00:09:19,225
to do their lynching."
151
00:09:19,267 --> 00:09:21,603
-We got to understand that
about this woman,
152
00:09:21,644 --> 00:09:24,064
that she was a soldier
from birth,
153
00:09:24,105 --> 00:09:26,232
that she was going to fight you.
154
00:09:26,274 --> 00:09:30,236
-Her quietness was actually
her strength.
155
00:09:30,278 --> 00:09:35,116
And she would let you know
if she didn't agree with you,
156
00:09:35,158 --> 00:09:39,746
but she would let you know
without raising her voice.
157
00:09:41,456 --> 00:09:44,376
-"My mother taught me
quite a bit about reading.
158
00:09:44,417 --> 00:09:47,003
She taught me the alphabet
and figures and counting
159
00:09:47,045 --> 00:09:49,631
before I even started
going to school.
160
00:09:51,216 --> 00:09:55,345
Just a very short distance from
where I lived was a new school.
161
00:09:55,387 --> 00:09:58,431
It was without question
for the white students.
162
00:09:58,473 --> 00:10:01,893
They had bus accommodations,
and we never did.
163
00:10:01,935 --> 00:10:05,021
I'd see the bus pass by my house
every day.
164
00:10:05,063 --> 00:10:09,025
At one time, I had to walk
at least 3 miles to school.
165
00:10:09,067 --> 00:10:10,944
The bus was among the first ways
166
00:10:10,985 --> 00:10:15,281
I realized there was
a black world and a white world.
167
00:10:17,325 --> 00:10:20,203
The schools in the South
were the best training ground
168
00:10:20,245 --> 00:10:24,207
for teaching Negro inferiority
and white supremacy.
169
00:10:24,249 --> 00:10:27,961
A young child starting to school
could very soon learn
170
00:10:28,003 --> 00:10:30,088
that the white children
went to beautiful,
171
00:10:30,130 --> 00:10:33,174
well-appointed
and equipped school buildings,
172
00:10:33,216 --> 00:10:35,969
while Negro children went
to roughly built
173
00:10:36,011 --> 00:10:38,346
uncomfortable shacks
with no desks,
174
00:10:38,388 --> 00:10:41,307
but rough plank benches."
175
00:10:41,349 --> 00:10:44,436
-Education for black kids
ends at sixth grade.
176
00:10:44,477 --> 00:10:46,479
Her mother finds that
unacceptable,
177
00:10:46,521 --> 00:10:49,649
so her mother sends her
to a school in Montgomery
178
00:10:49,691 --> 00:10:51,568
called Ms. White's,
179
00:10:51,609 --> 00:10:54,571
and a number of the women
who go to Ms. White's
180
00:10:54,612 --> 00:10:55,947
will end up being active
181
00:10:55,989 --> 00:10:58,074
in Montgomery
civil rights community.
182
00:11:21,181 --> 00:11:23,350
-"I learned quite a bit
about sewing.
183
00:11:23,391 --> 00:11:26,186
What I learned at Ms. White's
school was that I was a person
184
00:11:26,227 --> 00:11:28,521
with dignity
and self-respect,
185
00:11:28,563 --> 00:11:30,231
and I should not set
my sights lower
186
00:11:30,273 --> 00:11:33,443
than anybody else
just because I was black.
187
00:11:40,658 --> 00:11:44,287
Raymond Parks was the first
real activist I ever met.
188
00:11:44,329 --> 00:11:48,958
He was a longtime member
of the NAACP."
189
00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:51,211
-He was the first man I had met
190
00:11:51,252 --> 00:11:53,046
since the death
of my grandfather
191
00:11:53,088 --> 00:11:57,425
that was not ready to accept
what we call bowing
192
00:11:57,467 --> 00:12:01,388
and scraping,
and "yes-yes'ing."
193
00:12:01,429 --> 00:12:02,722
-"He was in his late 20s
194
00:12:02,764 --> 00:12:05,392
and working as a barber
in the black barbershop
195
00:12:05,433 --> 00:12:07,727
in downtown Montgomery."
196
00:12:07,769 --> 00:12:09,145
-A mutual friend introduces Rosa
197
00:12:09,187 --> 00:12:11,064
and Raymond Parks
to one another.
198
00:12:11,106 --> 00:12:13,233
Rosa's initially
not interested.
199
00:12:13,274 --> 00:12:15,777
-"I thought he was too white.
200
00:12:15,819 --> 00:12:17,529
I had an aversion to white men
201
00:12:17,570 --> 00:12:19,489
with the exception
of my grandfather,
202
00:12:19,531 --> 00:12:22,659
and Raymond Parks
is very light-skinned."
203
00:12:22,701 --> 00:12:24,661
-Her experience with
light-skinned black men
204
00:12:24,703 --> 00:12:26,913
is that they're usually
politically timid.
205
00:12:26,955 --> 00:12:30,875
Couldn't be further from the
truth, right, about Raymond.
206
00:12:30,917 --> 00:12:33,795
-"Parks --
everyone called him Parks --
207
00:12:33,837 --> 00:12:35,296
would tell me about
his problems
208
00:12:35,338 --> 00:12:38,925
growing up being
very fair complected."
209
00:12:38,967 --> 00:12:41,886
-He's also the owner
of a red Nash.
210
00:13:03,324 --> 00:13:05,410
Raymond starts to talk
about politics,
211
00:13:05,452 --> 00:13:09,372
and immediately she's captivated
by his authority on matters
212
00:13:09,414 --> 00:13:12,667
that are relevant to the black
freedom struggle, right?
213
00:13:12,709 --> 00:13:13,877
Particularly at this time
214
00:13:13,918 --> 00:13:16,171
the Scottsboro Boys' case.
215
00:13:16,212 --> 00:13:20,592
-He was very much concerned
with the young black boys
216
00:13:20,633 --> 00:13:23,094
who were being railroaded
217
00:13:23,136 --> 00:13:25,013
to the electric chair.
218
00:13:29,017 --> 00:13:32,062
-Eight black teenagers
and one boy.
219
00:13:32,103 --> 00:13:35,440
They're on this train
in search of work.
220
00:13:35,482 --> 00:13:38,234
They get into a scuffle
with some white men.
221
00:13:40,487 --> 00:13:42,238
-There were two white women
on the train
222
00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:45,200
who were arrested as well,
and to protect themselves,
223
00:13:45,241 --> 00:13:48,536
they claimed that they were
raped by these black boys.
224
00:13:51,706 --> 00:13:54,000
-The Scottsboro Boys
are very quickly tried,
225
00:13:54,042 --> 00:13:55,752
and all but the youngest one,
who's 12,
226
00:13:55,794 --> 00:13:58,838
are sentenced to death.
227
00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:01,174
-"I thought it was awful
that they were condemned to die
228
00:14:01,216 --> 00:14:03,802
for a crime
they did not commit.
229
00:14:03,843 --> 00:14:06,471
It demonstrated how little
regard segregationists
230
00:14:06,513 --> 00:14:08,556
had for the lives
of black people
231
00:14:08,598 --> 00:14:12,686
and the lengths they would go
to keep us in fear."
232
00:14:12,727 --> 00:14:15,021
-I would want to go along
with him to the meetings
233
00:14:15,063 --> 00:14:16,398
and hear the discussions,
234
00:14:16,439 --> 00:14:19,234
but he always said
it was too dangerous.
235
00:14:19,275 --> 00:14:20,985
-"The police were always
on the lookout
236
00:14:21,027 --> 00:14:22,696
for people to intimidate.
237
00:14:22,737 --> 00:14:25,448
The police killed two men who
were connected with the group
238
00:14:25,490 --> 00:14:29,411
Parks was with,
people Parks knew well."
239
00:14:29,452 --> 00:14:33,039
-People were certainly concerned
with being killed,
240
00:14:33,081 --> 00:14:35,375
being imprisoned.
241
00:14:35,417 --> 00:14:38,378
Raymond embraced
armed self-defense
242
00:14:38,420 --> 00:14:40,880
during the Scottsboro campaign.
243
00:14:40,922 --> 00:14:43,883
-He and I stayed up for many
a night and didn't sleep at all.
244
00:14:43,925 --> 00:14:47,220
When he left home, I did not
know whether he'd be brought in
245
00:14:47,262 --> 00:14:49,931
or lying in the street
dead someplace.
246
00:15:02,277 --> 00:15:04,362
-One of the biggest myths
in the history
247
00:15:04,404 --> 00:15:05,780
of the black freedom movement
248
00:15:05,822 --> 00:15:09,659
is that nonviolence
is the default position.
249
00:15:09,701 --> 00:15:11,578
That's not true.
It's the other way around.
250
00:15:11,619 --> 00:15:15,665
And Rosa Parks grew up
in a movement culture
251
00:15:15,707 --> 00:15:21,588
in which armed self-defense
was simply taken for granted.
252
00:15:21,629 --> 00:15:23,673
-Mother Parks supported
self-defense
253
00:15:23,715 --> 00:15:26,843
because she would not have been
a supporter
254
00:15:26,885 --> 00:15:30,180
of the Republic of New Afrika
had she not been.
255
00:15:36,394 --> 00:15:37,729
-The Republic of New Afrika
256
00:15:37,771 --> 00:15:41,024
is attempting to abide
by the law.
257
00:15:41,066 --> 00:15:43,318
Our weapons are all defensive.
258
00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:46,279
We wouldn't carry them
if we were not in the state
259
00:15:46,321 --> 00:15:49,366
that has shed
so much black blood.
260
00:15:49,407 --> 00:15:51,618
-The Republic of New Afrika
was founded
261
00:15:51,659 --> 00:15:54,871
by a man who was then known
as Richard Henry,
262
00:15:54,913 --> 00:15:58,375
who later became known
as Dr. Imari Obadele.
263
00:15:58,416 --> 00:16:03,171
-The point of the RNA
was to demand reparations
264
00:16:03,213 --> 00:16:05,340
for slavery and Jim Crow,
265
00:16:05,382 --> 00:16:07,467
to develop
armed self-defense groups
266
00:16:07,509 --> 00:16:09,302
to defend black people,
267
00:16:09,344 --> 00:16:13,264
and to basically
demand territory in the South.
268
00:16:15,475 --> 00:16:16,851
-And Mother Rosa Parks,
269
00:16:16,893 --> 00:16:18,937
she became friends
with Robert Williams
270
00:16:18,978 --> 00:16:23,650
and his wife, Mabel Williams,
who was also a revolutionary.
271
00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:35,704
In Jackson, Mississippi,
272
00:16:35,745 --> 00:16:39,833
their headquarters
was seized upon by authorities.
273
00:16:39,874 --> 00:16:41,918
Law enforcement who were not
enforcing the law --
274
00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:43,670
They were attacking them.
275
00:16:43,712 --> 00:16:46,381
They were shooting at members
of the Republic of New Afrika,
276
00:16:46,423 --> 00:16:49,426
members of the Republic
of New Afrika shot back.
277
00:16:49,467 --> 00:16:52,470
-Two Jackson police officers
and one FBI agent
278
00:16:52,512 --> 00:16:55,640
were hit by the gunfire
from inside the house.
279
00:16:55,682 --> 00:16:58,893
Tear gas and reinforcements
were used to run
280
00:16:58,935 --> 00:17:00,979
the occupants
of the house outside.
281
00:17:01,021 --> 00:17:04,315
Finally, seven members of the
black Republic of New Afrika
282
00:17:04,357 --> 00:17:07,902
surrendered at the rear
of the house.
283
00:17:07,944 --> 00:17:10,196
-Since a member of law
enforcement has been killed,
284
00:17:10,238 --> 00:17:13,491
people are very worried
that they're going to assault,
285
00:17:13,533 --> 00:17:15,368
torture, kill
the members of the RNA
286
00:17:15,410 --> 00:17:18,038
that they've now
brought into police custody.
287
00:17:18,079 --> 00:17:20,498
-Although Dr. Obadele
did none of the shooting
288
00:17:20,540 --> 00:17:23,126
and none of the causes
of violence,
289
00:17:23,168 --> 00:17:24,794
he was the one held responsible,
290
00:17:24,836 --> 00:17:28,173
and he was sentenced to five
years of federal imprisonment.
291
00:17:28,214 --> 00:17:35,138
And Mother Parks contacted
the prison just to check on him.
292
00:17:35,180 --> 00:17:38,725
She said, "I want to know
the condition of Imari Obadele,"
293
00:17:38,767 --> 00:17:42,270
and they called him
Richard Henry. "How is he?
294
00:17:42,312 --> 00:17:43,980
What is his welfare?"
295
00:17:44,022 --> 00:17:47,192
Dr. Imari Obadele said that
Mother Parks calling the prison
296
00:17:47,233 --> 00:17:52,322
that held him for five years
is the reason he was alive.
297
00:17:52,364 --> 00:17:53,865
To her, there was no conflict
298
00:17:53,907 --> 00:17:57,160
between supporting Imari Obadele
and Robert Williams
299
00:17:57,202 --> 00:17:59,454
or supporting Reverend
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
300
00:17:59,496 --> 00:18:00,997
whom she loved.
301
00:18:01,039 --> 00:18:06,294
She saw that as the same line
of freedom fighting.
302
00:18:06,336 --> 00:18:09,422
She was holistic in her approach
to the right
303
00:18:09,464 --> 00:18:11,466
of all people to be free.
304
00:18:19,224 --> 00:18:20,850
-"I came to understand
that Parks
305
00:18:20,892 --> 00:18:23,436
was willing to work for things
that would improve life
306
00:18:23,478 --> 00:18:26,231
for his race and his family
and himself.
307
00:18:26,272 --> 00:18:29,567
The second time Parks and I were
ever in each other's company,
308
00:18:29,609 --> 00:18:31,528
he talked about getting married.
309
00:18:31,569 --> 00:18:34,823
I hadn't given marriage
a thought at all.
310
00:18:34,864 --> 00:18:38,118
We were married in Pine Level
in my mother's home.
311
00:18:38,159 --> 00:18:43,415
It was not a big wedding,
just family and close friends."
312
00:18:43,456 --> 00:18:46,835
-Uncle Parks was one of
the best of men.
313
00:18:46,876 --> 00:18:51,548
He was kind, he was quiet
as well, and reserved.
314
00:18:51,589 --> 00:18:53,883
-They moved to the
Cleveland Courts projects.
315
00:18:53,925 --> 00:18:57,012
Rosa Parks, people look at her
as a middle-class woman,
316
00:18:57,053 --> 00:19:00,765
but they'd never own a house,
not in their entire marriage.
317
00:20:30,689 --> 00:20:32,982
-Her first meeting
with the NAACP,
318
00:20:33,024 --> 00:20:34,192
the secretary was out.
319
00:20:34,234 --> 00:20:36,986
They asked her if she'd take
the minutes.
320
00:20:37,028 --> 00:20:40,031
It was election day,
and they elected her secretary.
321
00:20:53,628 --> 00:20:55,005
-"Mr. Nixon was considered
322
00:20:55,046 --> 00:20:57,799
the most militant man
in Montgomery.
323
00:20:57,841 --> 00:21:00,010
He was the very first person
who approached me
324
00:21:00,051 --> 00:21:03,013
about the need
to get registered.
325
00:21:03,054 --> 00:21:05,682
Mr. Nixon organized
the Voters League.
326
00:21:05,724 --> 00:21:07,559
I became a member.
327
00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:09,936
I was impressed by his
potential leadership.
328
00:21:09,978 --> 00:21:12,856
He explained to me
very fully the necessity
329
00:21:12,897 --> 00:21:16,026
of getting registered to vote in
order to elect those officials
330
00:21:16,067 --> 00:21:18,194
that would
be beneficial to us
331
00:21:18,236 --> 00:21:20,739
and would increase
our ability and opportunity
332
00:21:20,780 --> 00:21:24,242
to become
first-class citizens.
333
00:21:24,284 --> 00:21:26,995
The segregationists made it
very difficult
334
00:21:27,037 --> 00:21:29,497
for black people
to register to vote."
335
00:21:34,544 --> 00:21:37,756
-And it was...
336
00:21:37,797 --> 00:21:41,551
practically impossible
to a black person,
337
00:21:41,593 --> 00:21:44,054
regardless
of their intelligence,
338
00:21:44,095 --> 00:21:46,890
to become registered,
except for a very few
339
00:21:46,931 --> 00:21:49,934
that were selected
by the white community.
340
00:21:51,853 --> 00:21:54,397
-African Americans
were largely being
341
00:21:54,439 --> 00:21:56,232
shut out of the ballot box.
342
00:21:56,274 --> 00:21:59,652
This was a period where one
would have to encounter
343
00:21:59,694 --> 00:22:01,196
unrelenting violence
344
00:22:01,237 --> 00:22:03,073
simply for wanting to vote.
345
00:22:03,114 --> 00:22:05,784
[ Woman vocalizing ]
346
00:22:07,577 --> 00:22:08,828
[ Woman chanting indistinctly ]
347
00:22:08,870 --> 00:22:10,413
[ Crowd chanting indistinctly ]
348
00:22:10,455 --> 00:22:15,585
-Rosa Parks for all of her life
was fighting on issues
349
00:22:15,627 --> 00:22:18,755
that are still very much
at the forefront
350
00:22:18,797 --> 00:22:21,925
of national discussion
and debate.
351
00:22:21,966 --> 00:22:23,593
-These battles are ongoing.
352
00:22:23,635 --> 00:22:27,681
Today, you look at the rampant
voter suppression
353
00:22:27,722 --> 00:22:29,849
taking place
across the country.
354
00:22:29,891 --> 00:22:31,935
State houses
at the local level
355
00:22:31,976 --> 00:22:33,978
are introducing
voter suppression laws
356
00:22:34,020 --> 00:22:36,731
that are meant to keep
the ballot box narrow
357
00:22:36,773 --> 00:22:40,235
and as white as possible.
358
00:22:40,276 --> 00:22:43,405
-"The right to vote is
so important for Americans.
359
00:22:43,446 --> 00:22:47,242
We vote for the people
to represent us in government.
360
00:22:47,283 --> 00:22:49,911
I decided to get registered.
361
00:22:49,953 --> 00:22:53,373
The first year I tried was 1943.
362
00:22:53,415 --> 00:22:56,418
I went down to register
and take my tests,
363
00:22:56,459 --> 00:23:00,046
but I did not receive
a certificate in the mail.
364
00:23:00,088 --> 00:23:03,800
The second time I tried,
I was denied.
365
00:23:03,842 --> 00:23:06,803
They just told me,
'You didn't pass.'
366
00:23:06,845 --> 00:23:08,596
They didn't have to give you
a reason.
367
00:23:08,638 --> 00:23:12,142
The registrar could do
whatever they wanted to do.
368
00:23:12,183 --> 00:23:14,477
I was pretty sure I passed
the test,
369
00:23:14,519 --> 00:23:16,312
so the third time
I took the test,
370
00:23:16,354 --> 00:23:19,524
I made a copy of my answers
to those questions.
371
00:23:19,566 --> 00:23:22,110
I was going to keep that copy
and use it to bring suit
372
00:23:22,152 --> 00:23:25,196
against
the voter registration board,
373
00:23:25,238 --> 00:23:28,033
but I received my certificate
in the mail."
374
00:23:31,828 --> 00:23:33,872
-"When I tried
to register to vote,
375
00:23:33,913 --> 00:23:37,250
I was put off a Montgomery bus
for the first time."
376
00:23:40,170 --> 00:23:42,505
-The Women's Political Council
was an organization
377
00:23:42,547 --> 00:23:48,345
that had begun in 1946 after
just dozens of black people
378
00:23:48,386 --> 00:23:52,182
had been arrested on the buses
for segregation purposes.
379
00:23:52,223 --> 00:23:56,186
We had sat down and witnessed
the arrest and humiliation
380
00:23:56,227 --> 00:23:59,898
and the court trials
and fines paid
381
00:23:59,939 --> 00:24:03,360
of people who just sat down
on an empty seat.
382
00:24:03,401 --> 00:24:05,278
Something had to be done.
383
00:24:05,320 --> 00:24:09,240
-The fight to desegregate
public transportation
384
00:24:09,282 --> 00:24:14,829
was part of a larger fight
for citizenship rights.
385
00:24:14,871 --> 00:24:18,041
-Nixon is also working
to protect black people
386
00:24:18,083 --> 00:24:20,877
who are victims
of white violence
387
00:24:20,919 --> 00:24:22,379
and in particular black women
388
00:24:22,420 --> 00:24:26,341
who have been raped
and sexually assaulted.
389
00:24:26,383 --> 00:24:30,178
-She felt strongly that
the same mind-set
390
00:24:30,220 --> 00:24:33,098
that tolerates sexual violence
against black women
391
00:24:33,139 --> 00:24:35,392
by these white men
is the same mind-set
392
00:24:35,433 --> 00:24:38,895
that will refuse
to hold people accountable
393
00:24:38,937 --> 00:24:44,067
when they engage in mob
lynchings and racial terror.
394
00:24:44,109 --> 00:24:48,446
-"Is it worthwhile to reveal
the intimacies of the past life?
395
00:24:48,488 --> 00:24:50,907
Would the people be sympathetic
or disillusioned
396
00:24:50,949 --> 00:24:53,993
when the facts
of my life are told?"
397
00:24:54,035 --> 00:24:57,914
-Rosa Parks writes this
very interesting narrative
398
00:24:57,956 --> 00:25:01,418
of which she describes
a near sexual assault.
399
00:25:01,459 --> 00:25:05,255
And this is something that takes
place in her teenage years.
400
00:25:05,296 --> 00:25:09,092
She's working as a domestic
at the time.
401
00:25:09,134 --> 00:25:12,387
-"I saw Mr. Charlie
standing in the kitchen.
402
00:25:12,429 --> 00:25:15,515
Mr. Charlie
poured himself a drink.
403
00:25:15,557 --> 00:25:19,060
He moved nearer to me
and put his hand on my waist.
404
00:25:21,021 --> 00:25:25,275
I was very frightened,
nearly to death.
405
00:25:25,316 --> 00:25:27,861
I jumped away,
and he was a bit startled
406
00:25:27,902 --> 00:25:31,281
and asked me
not to be afraid.
407
00:25:31,322 --> 00:25:35,326
He had money to give me
for accepting his attentions.
408
00:25:35,368 --> 00:25:37,620
I knew that no matter
what happened,
409
00:25:37,662 --> 00:25:41,624
I would never yield to this
white man's bestiality.
410
00:25:41,666 --> 00:25:44,336
I was ready and willing to die.
411
00:25:44,377 --> 00:25:45,754
But give my consent?
412
00:25:45,795 --> 00:25:49,049
Never, never, never.
413
00:25:49,090 --> 00:25:50,925
I talked of everything I know
414
00:25:50,967 --> 00:25:53,553
about the white man's
inhumane treatment of the Negro,
415
00:25:53,595 --> 00:25:57,557
how I hated all white people,
especially him.
416
00:25:57,599 --> 00:26:00,143
He asked me to give him a price.
417
00:26:00,185 --> 00:26:03,355
I turned away, saying
I was not for sale.
418
00:26:03,396 --> 00:26:05,690
If he wanted to kill me
and rape a dead body,
419
00:26:05,732 --> 00:26:11,154
he was welcome, but that
he would have to kill me first.
420
00:26:11,196 --> 00:26:13,323
At long last,
Mr. Charlie got the idea
421
00:26:13,365 --> 00:26:18,328
that I meant no,
very definitely no."
422
00:26:21,289 --> 00:26:26,252
-Ms. Parks was compelled
to document crimes
423
00:26:26,294 --> 00:26:27,712
because people weren't reacting
the way
424
00:26:27,754 --> 00:26:29,130
she thought
they should react.
425
00:26:29,172 --> 00:26:33,176
People were a little
too accepting
426
00:26:33,218 --> 00:26:37,305
of some of that victimization
even within the black community.
427
00:26:37,347 --> 00:26:40,475
-We had so many cases
of brutality,
428
00:26:40,517 --> 00:26:42,727
sometimes murder,
sometimes flogging,
429
00:26:42,769 --> 00:26:45,063
sometimes being driven
from their homes.
430
00:26:45,105 --> 00:26:49,234
And I was on call if anybody
needed me to say something
431
00:26:49,275 --> 00:26:52,445
and write up a report
or whatever,
432
00:26:52,487 --> 00:26:55,073
if they would have
the courage to sign it.
433
00:26:55,115 --> 00:26:56,825
And I had been known
in the community
434
00:26:56,866 --> 00:27:00,537
to come to the rescue of people
when sometime others didn't.
435
00:27:00,578 --> 00:27:02,038
They were almost unbelievable.
436
00:27:02,080 --> 00:27:03,581
I wouldn't like to even mention
to you
437
00:27:03,623 --> 00:27:07,252
some of the things
that I had to undergo.
438
00:27:10,964 --> 00:27:14,426
-"I remember one case
out in Abbeville, Alabama,
439
00:27:14,467 --> 00:27:17,220
where my father
and his family came from.
440
00:27:17,262 --> 00:27:20,849
Mrs. Recy Taylor was
on her way home from church
441
00:27:20,890 --> 00:27:22,142
when she was kidnapped,
442
00:27:22,183 --> 00:27:24,894
forced into a car
at gun- and knife-point,
443
00:27:24,936 --> 00:27:27,022
stripped of her clothing,
444
00:27:27,063 --> 00:27:32,110
and raped by six white men
on September 3, 1944."
445
00:27:33,987 --> 00:27:35,447
-Then put a blindfold on her,
took her back,
446
00:27:35,488 --> 00:27:37,949
and dumped her
in the middle of town, and said,
447
00:27:37,991 --> 00:27:41,077
"If you tell anybody,
we'll kill you."
448
00:27:41,119 --> 00:27:43,747
She went promptly
to the sheriff and told him.
449
00:27:43,788 --> 00:27:50,754
And they realized that nothing's
going to happen to these men.
450
00:27:51,504 --> 00:27:55,091
-Rosa Parks hears about this
from a white woman
451
00:27:55,133 --> 00:27:59,137
they know through
Scottsboro organizing.
452
00:27:59,179 --> 00:28:02,640
So Rosa Parks and some
of her comrades decide
453
00:28:02,682 --> 00:28:05,477
that they should investigate it.
454
00:28:05,518 --> 00:28:08,563
-Rosa Parks was sent
to get the testimony.
455
00:28:08,605 --> 00:28:13,360
In those times,
to go 100 miles from home.
456
00:28:13,401 --> 00:28:16,196
The sheriff is outside
driving by.
457
00:28:16,237 --> 00:28:17,947
There he goes again.
458
00:28:17,989 --> 00:28:19,616
Well, there he is.
459
00:28:19,657 --> 00:28:22,118
I just only can imagine what
that must have been like,
460
00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:24,913
sitting there, actually
having her tell that story,
461
00:28:24,954 --> 00:28:28,375
and Rosa Parks
writing down every word.
462
00:28:28,416 --> 00:28:33,880
-It was incredibly dangerous
for a black woman to report,
463
00:28:33,922 --> 00:28:37,300
to detail that they had been
the victims of sexual violence.
464
00:28:37,342 --> 00:28:39,135
For Ms. Parks, it was
especially dangerous
465
00:28:39,177 --> 00:28:40,845
going into communities
466
00:28:40,887 --> 00:28:44,140
because she was seen
as the problem.
467
00:28:44,182 --> 00:28:46,351
-In collaboration with
several other activists,
468
00:28:46,393 --> 00:28:48,687
they go as far as to take out
an ad in the local newspaper
469
00:28:48,728 --> 00:28:51,773
in order to let people know
what had taken place
470
00:28:51,815 --> 00:28:56,319
and to place pressure on
law enforcement to do something.
471
00:28:56,361 --> 00:28:59,406
-They write letters
to the governor.
472
00:29:01,366 --> 00:29:05,412
They get media coverage,
but the men are never indicted.
473
00:29:14,587 --> 00:29:15,296
-It was clear that Ms. Parks
474
00:29:16,464 --> 00:29:18,550
had a commitment
to fighting patriarchy.
475
00:29:18,591 --> 00:29:21,553
She committed her whole life
to saying sexual assault
476
00:29:21,594 --> 00:29:25,348
in our communities is something
that has to be eradicated.
477
00:29:29,602 --> 00:29:31,563
-I think that the most important
issue here
478
00:29:31,604 --> 00:29:34,691
is whether a woman has
the right to defend herself.
479
00:29:34,733 --> 00:29:38,069
It raises the question,
what right does a woman have?
480
00:29:38,111 --> 00:29:40,697
-Joan Little is 20, black,
481
00:29:40,739 --> 00:29:43,867
and charged with the murder
of a white jailer in Washington,
482
00:29:43,908 --> 00:29:47,078
North Carolina.
483
00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:52,208
-And Rosa Parks started a Free
Joan Little Movement in Detroit
484
00:29:52,250 --> 00:29:55,503
to try to help with her cause.
485
00:29:57,797 --> 00:30:00,133
-Joan Little was a young woman
486
00:30:00,175 --> 00:30:03,636
who was incarcerated
in North Carolina.
487
00:30:03,678 --> 00:30:08,099
And there was a jailer there
who regularly raped
488
00:30:08,141 --> 00:30:11,770
the women
who were in his jail.
489
00:30:11,811 --> 00:30:16,483
And he attempted to do that
with Joan Little,
490
00:30:16,524 --> 00:30:23,198
and he ended up not living
through that assault.
491
00:30:27,077 --> 00:30:28,703
-She was finally acquitted,
492
00:30:28,745 --> 00:30:31,331
but it took
a whole long movement,
493
00:30:31,373 --> 00:30:35,835
and Rosa Parks was one of
the voices of that movement.
494
00:30:35,877 --> 00:30:39,631
-Joan Little was the first
woman in the United States
495
00:30:39,673 --> 00:30:44,844
who ever fought back
and killed her assailant
496
00:30:44,886 --> 00:30:47,055
who was, indeed, exonerated.
497
00:30:47,097 --> 00:30:50,350
So that was a landmark case.
498
00:30:50,392 --> 00:30:53,353
-Rosa Parks considered
that one of the great victories
499
00:30:53,395 --> 00:30:55,230
in the justice struggle.
500
00:30:55,271 --> 00:30:57,273
[ Camera shutters clicking ]
501
00:30:58,525 --> 00:31:01,861
-There's a continuum
from her work in the South
502
00:31:01,903 --> 00:31:03,196
in the 1940s.
503
00:31:03,238 --> 00:31:05,782
I'm thinking specifically
of Recy Taylor.
504
00:31:13,415 --> 00:31:16,459
-The Recy Taylor case spurs
Nixon and Parks
505
00:31:16,501 --> 00:31:18,128
to run for branch leadership.
506
00:31:18,169 --> 00:31:22,090
And that's when Nixon runs
for branch president and wins.
507
00:31:22,132 --> 00:31:25,260
She runs for secretary and wins.
508
00:31:25,301 --> 00:31:27,887
E.D. Nixon and Rosa Parks
begin a partnership
509
00:31:27,929 --> 00:31:31,266
that's going to change
the face of American history.
510
00:31:43,069 --> 00:31:47,991
They will spend the next decade
turning Montgomery's NAACP
511
00:31:48,033 --> 00:31:51,453
into a much more
activist branch.
512
00:31:51,494 --> 00:31:55,081
-Before, the Montgomery branch
was largely dysfunctional.
513
00:31:55,123 --> 00:31:56,791
There was a lot of infighting,
514
00:31:56,833 --> 00:31:59,377
financial troubles
with the organization,
515
00:31:59,419 --> 00:32:00,920
and a lot of elitism.
516
00:32:00,962 --> 00:32:02,964
The organization was run
by some of the middle-class,
517
00:32:03,006 --> 00:32:06,634
college-educated black elite
in Montgomery.
518
00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:14,059
-Montgomery was always
a class-stratified society.
519
00:32:14,100 --> 00:32:18,229
The black elite took a position
that Negroes should go slow.
520
00:32:18,271 --> 00:32:19,814
They should take their time.
521
00:32:19,856 --> 00:32:23,735
And that's not the politics
that Rosa Parks adopted.
522
00:32:23,777 --> 00:32:25,862
Whoo
523
00:32:25,904 --> 00:32:27,572
-She ran at a faster pace
524
00:32:27,614 --> 00:32:29,282
than a lot
of her contemporaries.
525
00:32:29,324 --> 00:32:31,951
She wanted to go faster.
526
00:32:31,993 --> 00:32:35,663
And you sense that
in her work in the '40s.
527
00:32:35,705 --> 00:32:39,751
She just wasn't going to be
content with the status quo.
528
00:32:53,223 --> 00:32:59,229
-My only brother, who had served
almost four years in the war,
529
00:32:59,270 --> 00:33:00,855
was discharged honorably.
530
00:33:00,897 --> 00:33:05,610
He was quite upset because
he felt that those of us at home
531
00:33:05,652 --> 00:33:08,822
had failed those
on the war front.
532
00:33:08,863 --> 00:33:14,452
-My grandfather, he served in
two theaters in World War II.
533
00:33:14,494 --> 00:33:16,788
A highly respected military man
at the time.
534
00:33:16,830 --> 00:33:18,623
And he came home
and was mistreated.
535
00:33:18,665 --> 00:33:20,125
You know what I mean?
536
00:33:20,166 --> 00:33:22,669
You serve your country,
and then you come home
537
00:33:22,711 --> 00:33:26,756
to a place in which you would
think you would get the flowers,
538
00:33:26,798 --> 00:33:29,342
you would get the accolades,
you would get, at least,
539
00:33:29,384 --> 00:33:34,806
"Don't call me boy or nigger."
540
00:33:37,058 --> 00:33:39,144
-Sylvester will decide
he can't bear this.
541
00:33:39,185 --> 00:33:42,188
And so, in 1946, he and
his family leave Montgomery,
542
00:33:42,230 --> 00:33:43,398
and they never come back.
543
00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:46,192
And he moves to Detroit.
544
00:33:46,234 --> 00:33:48,778
-"Things happened that most
people never heard about
545
00:33:48,820 --> 00:33:51,656
because they never were
reported in the newspapers.
546
00:33:51,698 --> 00:33:55,452
At times, I felt overwhelmed
by all the violence and hatred.
547
00:33:55,493 --> 00:33:58,663
But there was nothing to do
but keep going."
548
00:33:58,705 --> 00:34:02,876
-At that time, I felt that I had
a message and felt very vocal,
549
00:34:02,917 --> 00:34:05,754
but people did not choose to
listen to what I was saying then
550
00:34:05,795 --> 00:34:08,715
because they didn't think there
was any reason for my being
551
00:34:08,757 --> 00:34:11,718
so concerned about doing away
with segregation
552
00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:14,596
because they thought
it was a hopeless cause.
553
00:34:14,637 --> 00:34:17,932
I was working very hard
to bring about freedom,
554
00:34:17,974 --> 00:34:21,936
especially for young people
through the NAACP.
555
00:34:26,816 --> 00:34:30,278
-And the Hebrew childrenfrom the fiery furnace
556
00:34:30,320 --> 00:34:33,073
Why not every man?
557
00:34:33,114 --> 00:34:36,701
-Rosa Parks had a youth group
here at the church
558
00:34:36,743 --> 00:34:38,286
when I was a young teenager,
559
00:34:38,328 --> 00:34:42,374
and we would talk about
the NAACP and its workings.
560
00:34:42,415 --> 00:34:43,792
-And why not every man?
561
00:34:43,833 --> 00:34:47,962
-I was 11 when I joined
the Youth Council.
562
00:34:48,004 --> 00:34:51,007
Montgomery was
a very scary place
563
00:34:51,049 --> 00:34:55,387
that the white community
considered a threat to them.
564
00:34:55,428 --> 00:34:57,055
-It was very difficult
565
00:34:57,097 --> 00:35:01,226
because most of the parents
discouraged their youngsters
566
00:35:01,267 --> 00:35:04,104
and didn't want them
to participate or join.
567
00:35:04,145 --> 00:35:06,064
They didn't mind them
paying the membership,
568
00:35:06,106 --> 00:35:09,109
but they didn't want them to
actively participate in writing
569
00:35:09,150 --> 00:35:13,738
to the Congressmen and
challenging segregation locally.
570
00:35:13,780 --> 00:35:15,699
-We met most of the times
571
00:35:15,740 --> 00:35:18,284
in Mrs. Parks' apartment.
572
00:35:18,326 --> 00:35:23,998
I was drawn to her passion
on eradicating the conditions
573
00:35:24,040 --> 00:35:27,627
that were going on
in our communities.
574
00:35:27,669 --> 00:35:31,006
If there were 12 people in here,
it was an overflow crowd.
575
00:35:31,047 --> 00:35:34,134
Ms. Parks
mostly was sitting over there
576
00:35:34,175 --> 00:35:36,094
and conducting the meetings.
577
00:35:36,136 --> 00:35:40,807
But we talked a lot about
voter registration
578
00:35:40,849 --> 00:35:43,101
and events we were planning.
579
00:35:45,061 --> 00:35:48,481
-It was not, for her, like,
"We're going to pass the torch."
580
00:35:48,523 --> 00:35:52,652
It was, "I will help you,
and we will do this,
581
00:35:52,694 --> 00:35:54,529
and we will talk about
how to do it,
582
00:35:54,571 --> 00:35:57,615
but I believe in you,
young people."
583
00:36:00,535 --> 00:36:02,537
-You kind of feel the energy.
584
00:36:04,706 --> 00:36:06,374
Wow.
585
00:36:09,502 --> 00:36:11,463
I am...
586
00:36:11,504 --> 00:36:14,507
I'm almost speechless.
587
00:36:26,019 --> 00:36:28,897
-"Colored people are employed
at this store as maids,
588
00:36:28,938 --> 00:36:32,359
porters, elevator operators,
truck drivers.
589
00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:36,029
I work in the tailor shop
doing men's clothing alterations
590
00:36:36,071 --> 00:36:39,366
as a helper of the tailor
who is colored.
591
00:36:39,407 --> 00:36:41,242
This thing called segregation
here
592
00:36:41,284 --> 00:36:46,081
is complete and solid pattern
as a way of life."
593
00:36:46,122 --> 00:36:48,833
-To make money on the side,
Rosa Parks is tailoring
594
00:36:48,875 --> 00:36:50,210
for one of Montgomery's
595
00:36:50,251 --> 00:36:53,213
few white civil rights
activist families,
596
00:36:53,254 --> 00:36:56,049
Clifford and Virginia Durr.
597
00:36:56,091 --> 00:36:59,177
Parks and Virginia
began a friendship.
598
00:36:59,219 --> 00:37:02,472
-"She wanted to be part of our
efforts to end segregation,
599
00:37:02,514 --> 00:37:06,976
even though that meant being
ostracized and made to suffer."
600
00:37:07,018 --> 00:37:10,647
-Durr is affiliated
with Highlander Folk School.
601
00:37:12,607 --> 00:37:14,442
-The school was a new beginning,
602
00:37:14,484 --> 00:37:16,945
a link between the towns
and the mountain.
603
00:37:16,986 --> 00:37:19,614
Myles Horton was its founder.
604
00:37:19,656 --> 00:37:22,117
-If we could demonstrate
by the way we lived
605
00:37:22,158 --> 00:37:24,869
and what we believed
and the way we treated people,
606
00:37:24,911 --> 00:37:27,747
that there was a possibility of,
in this situation,
607
00:37:27,789 --> 00:37:29,290
blacks and whites,
working things out.
608
00:37:29,332 --> 00:37:33,712
We hoped that idea
would have some small influence.
609
00:37:36,047 --> 00:37:38,091
-The Highlander Folk School
is trying to build a program
610
00:37:38,133 --> 00:37:41,761
that's dedicated to having
people challenge segregation
611
00:37:41,803 --> 00:37:43,847
throughout the South.
612
00:37:43,888 --> 00:37:45,640
-In the summer of 1955,
613
00:37:45,682 --> 00:37:48,560
Highlander is organizing
a two-week workshop,
614
00:37:48,601 --> 00:37:51,479
and they have a scholarship for
someone to come from Montgomery.
615
00:37:51,521 --> 00:37:54,482
And Virginia Durr
recommends Rosa Parks.
616
00:38:01,197 --> 00:38:04,617
-I hadn't traveled very much
at that time.
617
00:38:04,659 --> 00:38:06,578
Just getting on the bus,
618
00:38:06,619 --> 00:38:09,289
I found myself going further
and further away
619
00:38:09,330 --> 00:38:13,793
from the type of surroundings
I was used to.
620
00:38:13,835 --> 00:38:17,464
It was my very first experience
in my entire life
621
00:38:17,505 --> 00:38:19,924
going to a place where there
were people of another race
622
00:38:19,966 --> 00:38:23,136
and where we were
all treated equally
623
00:38:23,178 --> 00:38:28,058
and without any tension
or feeling of embarrassment
624
00:38:28,099 --> 00:38:31,269
or whatever goes
with artificial boundaries
625
00:38:31,311 --> 00:38:34,522
of racial segregation.
626
00:38:34,564 --> 00:38:35,982
Myles Horton,
along with his staff,
627
00:38:36,024 --> 00:38:38,568
did give me my first insight
on the fact
628
00:38:38,610 --> 00:38:40,236
that there were such people
629
00:38:40,278 --> 00:38:45,408
who believed completely in
freedom and equality for all.
630
00:38:45,450 --> 00:38:48,119
-At the time Rosa Parks
came to Highlander,
631
00:38:48,161 --> 00:38:50,830
we were just beginning
to get some understanding
632
00:38:50,872 --> 00:38:52,499
in the South
of the possibilities,
633
00:38:52,540 --> 00:38:54,876
the hope of doing something.
634
00:38:54,918 --> 00:38:57,253
Ms. Parks was probably
the quietest participant
635
00:38:57,295 --> 00:38:58,588
in the workshop,
636
00:38:58,630 --> 00:39:01,091
but we had
high hopes for her.
637
00:39:01,132 --> 00:39:05,011
-I was somewhat withdrawn and
didn't have very much to say.
638
00:39:05,053 --> 00:39:10,016
But finally I relaxed and
enjoyed the stay very much
639
00:39:10,058 --> 00:39:13,520
throughout the entire workshop.
640
00:39:13,561 --> 00:39:17,357
-It's there that she begins
to get even a sharper
641
00:39:17,399 --> 00:39:22,112
and a broader understanding of
this struggle for civil rights.
642
00:39:24,239 --> 00:39:26,616
-That particular school,
Myles Horton,
643
00:39:26,658 --> 00:39:28,201
is responsible for me today
644
00:39:28,243 --> 00:39:31,121
not hating
every white person I see.
645
00:39:31,162 --> 00:39:34,958
I learned at that time
and at that place
646
00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:38,795
that there are decent people
of any race and color.
647
00:39:45,301 --> 00:39:48,513
-"The Montgomery NAACP
was beginning to think
648
00:39:48,555 --> 00:39:52,767
about filing a suit against
the city over bus segregation,
649
00:39:52,809 --> 00:39:57,689
but they had to have the right
plaintiff and a strong case.
650
00:39:57,731 --> 00:39:59,858
The best plaintiff would be
a woman
651
00:39:59,899 --> 00:40:03,445
because a woman would get
more sympathy than a man.
652
00:40:03,486 --> 00:40:05,822
And the woman would have
to be above reproach
653
00:40:05,864 --> 00:40:11,494
and have done nothing wrong
but refuse to give up her seat."
654
00:40:11,536 --> 00:40:13,246
-March 2nd of 1955,
655
00:40:13,288 --> 00:40:15,248
there was a young girl
named Claudette Colvin
656
00:40:15,290 --> 00:40:18,668
who was arrested on the bus
for refusing to stand up.
657
00:40:18,710 --> 00:40:21,713
And she was taken off the bus
bodily by three policemen
658
00:40:21,755 --> 00:40:24,966
and thrown into jail.
659
00:40:25,008 --> 00:40:28,345
-I was very active
in Mrs. Parks' youth group.
660
00:40:28,386 --> 00:40:33,892
And I began to think about
how unfair we was treated.
661
00:40:33,933 --> 00:40:37,187
They asked me to get up,
and I refused.
662
00:40:37,228 --> 00:40:43,193
I could not move because history
had me glued to the seat.
663
00:40:43,234 --> 00:40:46,988
It felt like
Sojourner Truth's hands
664
00:40:47,030 --> 00:40:49,866
were pushing me down
on one shoulder
665
00:40:49,908 --> 00:40:51,826
and Harriet Tubman's hands
666
00:40:51,868 --> 00:40:55,538
were pushing me down
on another shoulder.
667
00:40:55,580 --> 00:40:59,334
-Instead of charging her with
violating the segregation law,
668
00:40:59,376 --> 00:41:01,628
they charged her
with disorderly conduct,
669
00:41:01,670 --> 00:41:05,757
resisting an officer,
and assault and battery.
670
00:41:07,884 --> 00:41:12,097
-The NAACP ultimately did not
move forward with her case.
671
00:41:12,138 --> 00:41:14,182
At the age of 15,
they did not think
672
00:41:14,224 --> 00:41:16,101
that she would make
a good witness,
673
00:41:16,142 --> 00:41:18,061
that she would not be reliable.
674
00:41:18,103 --> 00:41:19,354
Some people described her
675
00:41:19,396 --> 00:41:23,149
as being a bit rebellious
and feisty.
676
00:41:23,191 --> 00:41:26,945
And Claudette Colvin was
a dark-skinned black girl.
677
00:41:26,986 --> 00:41:28,780
There was colorism.
678
00:41:28,822 --> 00:41:31,950
-I was really disappointed.
679
00:41:56,099 --> 00:41:58,268
-There was a lot of emotion
680
00:41:58,309 --> 00:42:01,271
building over
this period of time.
681
00:42:01,312 --> 00:42:04,983
The people were
just feeling pushed.
682
00:42:05,025 --> 00:42:07,610
Violence on the buses
had been going on, too.
683
00:42:07,652 --> 00:42:11,865
And there was a veteran who
was killed by a police officer.
684
00:42:11,906 --> 00:42:15,618
-"Treading the tightrope
of Jim Crow from birth to death,
685
00:42:15,660 --> 00:42:21,666
from the cradle to the grave is
a major mental acrobatic feat.
686
00:42:21,708 --> 00:42:25,253
It takes a noble soul
to plumb this line.
687
00:42:25,295 --> 00:42:28,798
There's always a line
of some kind -- color line,
688
00:42:28,840 --> 00:42:31,259
hanging rope, tightrope.
689
00:42:31,301 --> 00:42:34,554
To me, it seems that we are
puppets on a string
690
00:42:34,596 --> 00:42:36,181
in the white man's hands.
691
00:42:36,222 --> 00:42:39,642
They say we must be segregated
from the color line,
692
00:42:39,684 --> 00:42:41,311
yet they pull the strings,
693
00:42:41,353 --> 00:42:43,563
and we perform
to their satisfaction
694
00:42:43,605 --> 00:42:47,650
or suffer the consequences
if we get out of line."
695
00:42:47,692 --> 00:42:51,571
-There were literally hundreds
of incidents on the buses.
696
00:42:53,656 --> 00:42:58,286
There are no black bus drivers,
and all bus drivers are armed.
697
00:42:58,328 --> 00:42:59,996
-There was
a growing consciousness
698
00:43:00,038 --> 00:43:04,834
that the polite, accommodating,
gentle way of getting people
699
00:43:04,876 --> 00:43:08,672
to see the humanity of
black people in this community
700
00:43:08,713 --> 00:43:10,298
was not going to be enough.
701
00:43:12,634 --> 00:43:13,968
-The death of Emmett Till --
702
00:43:14,010 --> 00:43:17,347
She knew she could not
take it anymore,
703
00:43:17,389 --> 00:43:20,892
see black children killed,
see women raped,
704
00:43:20,934 --> 00:43:23,561
see men accosted and mutilated.
705
00:43:23,603 --> 00:43:26,898
It brought a big burden
on Auntie Rosa.
706
00:43:44,582 --> 00:43:47,210
-The front of the bus
was reserved for white people.
707
00:43:47,252 --> 00:43:49,921
The back of the bus was reserved
for black people.
708
00:43:49,963 --> 00:43:51,673
And then there's the middle.
709
00:43:51,715 --> 00:43:55,218
And the middle is kind of a
no man's land that black people
710
00:43:55,260 --> 00:43:56,886
are entitled to sit there,
711
00:43:56,928 --> 00:44:01,349
but on the whim of the driver,
could be asked to move.
712
00:44:01,391 --> 00:44:03,893
By the terms
of Alabama segregation,
713
00:44:03,935 --> 00:44:06,646
all four people in her aisle
will have to get up
714
00:44:06,688 --> 00:44:09,399
for this one white person
to sit down.
715
00:44:09,441 --> 00:44:13,153
-"The driver said, 'Y'all better
make it light on yourselves
716
00:44:13,194 --> 00:44:15,030
and let me have those seats.'
717
00:44:15,071 --> 00:44:16,948
I could not see how standing up
was going
718
00:44:16,990 --> 00:44:18,658
to make it light for me.
719
00:44:18,700 --> 00:44:22,037
I thought back to the time
when I used to sit up all night
720
00:44:22,078 --> 00:44:26,416
and my grandfather would have
his gun right by the fireplace."
721
00:44:53,193 --> 00:44:55,779
"I asked for water to drink.
722
00:44:55,820 --> 00:44:57,238
And as I walked to the fountain,
723
00:44:57,280 --> 00:44:59,282
one yelled,
'Get away from here.
724
00:44:59,324 --> 00:45:01,785
You can't drink water
from that fountain.'
725
00:45:01,826 --> 00:45:05,455
I went back to the desk,
still very thirsty.
726
00:45:05,497 --> 00:45:08,083
I felt completely alone
and desolate,
727
00:45:08,124 --> 00:45:12,170
as if I was descending into
a black and bottomless chasm."
728
00:45:32,941 --> 00:45:34,567
"Mr. Nixon asked
if I'd be willing
729
00:45:34,609 --> 00:45:38,196
to make my case as a test case
against segregation.
730
00:45:38,238 --> 00:45:39,948
I had worked on enough cases
to know
731
00:45:39,989 --> 00:45:43,660
that a ruling could not
be made without a plaintiff.
732
00:45:43,702 --> 00:45:46,830
So I agreed to be
the plaintiff."
733
00:45:46,871 --> 00:45:51,001
-She calls a young, 25-year-old
lawyer named Fred Gray
734
00:45:51,042 --> 00:45:54,337
who she knew and had
become friends with in the NAACP
735
00:45:54,379 --> 00:45:57,549
to ask him to represent her.
736
00:45:57,590 --> 00:46:01,428
-As president of
the Women's Political Council,
737
00:46:01,469 --> 00:46:05,015
I called all the officers
of the three chapters.
738
00:46:05,056 --> 00:46:07,934
And I told them that Rosa Parks
had been arrested
739
00:46:07,976 --> 00:46:09,185
and she would be tried.
740
00:46:09,227 --> 00:46:10,895
They said, "You have the plans?
741
00:46:10,937 --> 00:46:13,857
Put them into operation."
742
00:46:13,898 --> 00:46:15,150
I didn't go to bed that night.
743
00:46:15,191 --> 00:46:16,609
I cut those stencils.
744
00:46:16,651 --> 00:46:21,531
I ran off 35,000 copies,
and I distributed them.
745
00:46:21,573 --> 00:46:24,325
We had worked
for at least three years
746
00:46:24,367 --> 00:46:26,327
getting that thing organized.
747
00:46:26,369 --> 00:46:28,246
-Oh, yeah
748
00:46:28,288 --> 00:46:31,958
-Friday, which was
the 2nd of December,
749
00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:33,376
it was a typical school day.
750
00:46:33,418 --> 00:46:35,545
I was in ninth grade.
751
00:46:35,587 --> 00:46:39,424
I remember very, very clearly
telling us, "You're here
752
00:46:39,466 --> 00:46:42,385
because you're bus riders,
and we're depending on you
753
00:46:42,427 --> 00:46:45,055
to take a note home
to your parents.
754
00:46:45,096 --> 00:46:46,473
The note tells your parents
755
00:46:46,514 --> 00:46:49,225
that you are not to ride
the buses on Monday.
756
00:46:49,267 --> 00:46:54,272
And it's so important that you
don't let anybody see this note.
757
00:46:54,314 --> 00:46:56,066
Students, I'm depending on you."
758
00:46:56,107 --> 00:47:00,779
-People were wondering if this
was really going to work.
759
00:47:00,820 --> 00:47:02,322
Everybody was doubtful.
760
00:47:02,364 --> 00:47:04,908
We thought that it would cause
a lot of problems.
761
00:47:04,949 --> 00:47:09,329
I can remember the fear
and the anxiety of people.
762
00:47:10,955 --> 00:47:14,584
-Monday morning,
which was the 5th of December,
763
00:47:14,626 --> 00:47:17,337
my dad came home about 7:00.
764
00:47:17,379 --> 00:47:18,922
Boy, was he excited.
765
00:47:18,963 --> 00:47:20,674
I never will forget --
"The buses are empty.
766
00:47:20,715 --> 00:47:23,385
The buses are empty.
Oh, they're as clean as Jesus.
767
00:47:23,426 --> 00:47:25,178
Wow, the buses are empty."
768
00:47:25,220 --> 00:47:26,513
We laughed.
769
00:47:26,554 --> 00:47:28,014
I said, "We got to walk.
We got to walk.
770
00:47:28,056 --> 00:47:29,516
We got to walk."
771
00:47:29,557 --> 00:47:31,476
We were so excited.
772
00:47:34,187 --> 00:47:36,106
-On the evening of December 5th,
773
00:47:36,147 --> 00:47:40,276
we had a meeting at
the Holt Street Baptist Church.
774
00:47:40,318 --> 00:47:42,612
There were thousands of people.
775
00:47:42,654 --> 00:47:45,031
-I remember being given
a leaflet
776
00:47:45,073 --> 00:47:49,661
announcing the mass meeting
at Holt Street Church.
777
00:47:49,703 --> 00:47:53,289
People showed up
from everywhere.
778
00:47:53,331 --> 00:47:56,126
They had to block off streets.
779
00:47:56,167 --> 00:48:00,338
The church had the loudspeaker
outside so people could hear.
780
00:48:00,380 --> 00:48:01,673
-It was just packed.
781
00:48:01,715 --> 00:48:05,802
And I did get escorted
to the pulpit.
782
00:48:05,844 --> 00:48:08,680
And there were, oh, so many
people that -- You can imagine
783
00:48:08,722 --> 00:48:11,599
that many getting
in this church.
784
00:48:11,641 --> 00:48:15,812
People were so enthusiastic,
and they were so willing.
785
00:48:15,854 --> 00:48:19,315
I did not have to speak,
and I didn't speak
786
00:48:19,357 --> 00:48:21,776
because they told me
I had said enough.
787
00:48:21,818 --> 00:48:23,153
-Reverend King.
788
00:48:23,194 --> 00:48:24,821
[ Applause ]
789
00:48:24,863 --> 00:48:26,406
-Dr. Martin Luther King,
790
00:48:26,448 --> 00:48:30,827
who had just become the pastor
of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church,
791
00:48:30,869 --> 00:48:35,540
he was not well known, and this
was his coming-out party.
792
00:48:56,019 --> 00:48:58,063
[ Cheers and applause ]
793
00:48:59,064 --> 00:49:02,692
-He ended up becoming
a spokesperson.
794
00:49:04,319 --> 00:49:07,947
He put the boycott
in a global perspective.
795
00:49:26,841 --> 00:49:30,553
-There was a vote taken
to decide
796
00:49:30,595 --> 00:49:33,223
whether the protest
would continue.
797
00:49:33,264 --> 00:49:36,142
And the decision was unanimous.
798
00:49:36,184 --> 00:49:39,896
People were yelling out that
they would remain off the buses
799
00:49:39,938 --> 00:49:43,775
until changes were made
for the better for us.
800
00:49:46,611 --> 00:49:50,907
-So can you imagine how people
must have felt
801
00:49:50,949 --> 00:49:54,828
when they realized,
"We did this?
802
00:49:54,869 --> 00:49:59,124
Look, we stood against
the threat."
803
00:49:59,165 --> 00:50:01,501
"You want to go on?"
"Yes."
804
00:50:01,543 --> 00:50:09,384
-The sun will never go down,go down
805
00:50:09,426 --> 00:50:17,642
The sun will never go down,go down
806
00:50:17,684 --> 00:50:19,144
The flowers...
807
00:50:19,185 --> 00:50:23,898
-They organize a carpool system
where they set up
808
00:50:23,940 --> 00:50:27,193
40 pickup stations
all around the city,
809
00:50:27,235 --> 00:50:30,447
and the Montgomery
Improvement Association
810
00:50:30,488 --> 00:50:31,698
ultimately is coordinating,
811
00:50:31,740 --> 00:50:34,951
like, 10,000 to 15,000 rides
per day.
812
00:50:34,993 --> 00:50:39,622
Rosa Parks will serve as
a dispatcher for about a month.
813
00:50:39,664 --> 00:50:42,542
-"Riders, go to dispatch
and pickup stations
814
00:50:42,584 --> 00:50:46,087
if you want transportation.
Don't be rude.
815
00:50:46,129 --> 00:50:47,380
Remember how long some of us
816
00:50:47,422 --> 00:50:49,007
had to wait
when the bus passed us
817
00:50:49,049 --> 00:50:52,469
without stopping
in the morning and evening.
818
00:50:52,510 --> 00:50:54,888
Drivers, stay on the job.
819
00:50:54,929 --> 00:50:56,765
The riders may create
some problems,
820
00:50:56,806 --> 00:50:58,975
but try to be
patient with them.
821
00:50:59,017 --> 00:51:02,354
They are making the protest
the success it is."
822
00:51:02,395 --> 00:51:05,774
-My dad would every morning,
before he'd go to work,
823
00:51:05,815 --> 00:51:08,026
go to one of the pickup stops
824
00:51:08,068 --> 00:51:11,154
and would carry
somebody else to work.
825
00:51:11,196 --> 00:51:14,616
-People could go and get
in a black-owned taxi
826
00:51:14,657 --> 00:51:16,493
to get to work instead.
827
00:51:16,534 --> 00:51:17,994
Or the workers
that were impacted
828
00:51:18,036 --> 00:51:20,705
by not riding the buses had,
like, mutual aid
829
00:51:20,747 --> 00:51:22,832
to take care of them
and their families
830
00:51:22,874 --> 00:51:26,670
while the economy took the hit.
831
00:51:26,711 --> 00:51:29,005
-Black women were the forefront.
832
00:51:29,047 --> 00:51:32,092
They helped out as fundraisers,
organized rides,
833
00:51:32,133 --> 00:51:33,593
cooked food in their home
834
00:51:33,635 --> 00:51:37,931
to make sure that
they could sustain the boycott.
835
00:51:37,972 --> 00:51:41,518
-The Women's Political Council
had more than 300 members,
836
00:51:41,559 --> 00:51:43,853
and we were organized
to the point
837
00:51:43,895 --> 00:51:46,690
that we knew that
in a matter of hours,
838
00:51:52,278 --> 00:51:52,904
-...Christian soldiers
839
00:51:56,241 --> 00:52:01,287
Marching as to war
840
00:52:01,329 --> 00:52:05,792
-Months later, the attention
that the boycott generated
841
00:52:05,834 --> 00:52:08,336
was unexpected for
white people in Montgomery.
842
00:52:08,378 --> 00:52:12,090
They didn't think anybody
cared about black people.
843
00:52:12,132 --> 00:52:14,009
-This attracted
so much attention
844
00:52:14,050 --> 00:52:15,885
that people came from all
over the country.
845
00:52:15,927 --> 00:52:19,639
They sent money, sent clothing,
sent shoes, food,
846
00:52:19,681 --> 00:52:21,307
and they sent in enough money
847
00:52:21,349 --> 00:52:26,187
to purchase several station
wagons through the churches.
848
00:52:26,229 --> 00:52:28,648
One of the things that made
our movement
849
00:52:28,690 --> 00:52:30,942
so very significant,
850
00:52:30,984 --> 00:52:33,486
because we were banding
together on a common cause.
851
00:52:33,528 --> 00:52:40,535
As long as we were divided
and fearful, we were defeated.
852
00:52:42,746 --> 00:52:46,374
-For several months,
Rosa Parks traveled.
853
00:52:46,416 --> 00:52:50,712
She played a key role in helping
to fundraise for the boycott.
854
00:52:53,506 --> 00:52:55,759
-We did not have weapons
855
00:52:55,800 --> 00:52:58,178
to go against
the power structure,
856
00:52:58,219 --> 00:53:02,057
but our persistence,
our patience,
857
00:53:02,098 --> 00:53:05,643
our faith,
and our belief in each other
858
00:53:05,685 --> 00:53:09,272
always strengthened
our determination
859
00:53:09,314 --> 00:53:15,111
to remain steadfast
and united.
860
00:53:16,988 --> 00:53:20,033
-Segregation
is an institution of society
861
00:53:20,075 --> 00:53:23,370
we do not intend
to see disturbed.
862
00:53:23,411 --> 00:53:25,497
-The White Citizens' Councils
863
00:53:25,538 --> 00:53:29,626
were the kind of respectable
version of the Klan.
864
00:53:29,668 --> 00:53:31,211
They were the judges
and the lawyers,
865
00:53:31,252 --> 00:53:36,716
and their task was to defend
segregation at all costs,
866
00:53:36,758 --> 00:53:38,218
but do so in a way
867
00:53:38,259 --> 00:53:42,347
that presented a kind of look
of respectability.
868
00:53:42,389 --> 00:53:47,560
-You are not going to permit
the NAACP to control your state.
869
00:53:47,602 --> 00:53:51,064
[ Cheers and applause ]
870
00:53:51,106 --> 00:53:55,110
We are not going to permit
our little children
871
00:53:55,151 --> 00:54:00,156
to be used as pawns
in a game of power politics
872
00:54:00,198 --> 00:54:03,076
to get the racial vote
in Marble City.
873
00:54:03,118 --> 00:54:05,370
[ Cheers and applause ]
874
00:54:07,956 --> 00:54:12,085
-The cities try in all different
ways to break the boycott.
875
00:54:12,127 --> 00:54:14,587
There's all sorts of violence.
People are throwing things,
876
00:54:14,629 --> 00:54:20,218
including cops, like urine, and
they're slashing people's tires.
877
00:54:20,260 --> 00:54:22,429
-A lot
of the high-profile leaders --
878
00:54:22,470 --> 00:54:24,014
Martin Luther King
879
00:54:24,055 --> 00:54:26,474
from the Montgomery Improvement
Association,
880
00:54:26,516 --> 00:54:28,810
E.D. Nixon from the NAACP --
881
00:54:28,852 --> 00:54:30,812
their houses are bombed.
882
00:54:37,360 --> 00:54:40,739
-And people don't appreciate
the kind of violence
883
00:54:40,780 --> 00:54:42,949
that people endured,
884
00:54:42,991 --> 00:54:46,244
and how people would
put on their Sunday best
885
00:54:46,286 --> 00:54:49,831
and go places knowing that
they were going to get beaten
886
00:54:49,873 --> 00:54:52,959
and bloodied and battered
when they got there.
887
00:54:54,669 --> 00:54:58,590
-Fred Gray decided to file
a proactive case
888
00:54:58,631 --> 00:55:00,800
into federal court
889
00:55:00,842 --> 00:55:05,138
to start another legal front
in challenging bus segregation.
890
00:55:05,180 --> 00:55:07,098
And so he's looking
for plaintiffs,
891
00:55:07,140 --> 00:55:09,309
and in the end, four women,
892
00:55:09,351 --> 00:55:12,312
including Claudette Colvin,
stepped forward,
893
00:55:12,354 --> 00:55:15,148
which will be called
Browder v. Gayle.
894
00:55:15,190 --> 00:55:17,275
Parks is not
on that federal case,
895
00:55:17,317 --> 00:55:20,612
partly because of her
long political history
896
00:55:20,653 --> 00:55:23,656
with the NAACP
as an activist.
897
00:55:23,698 --> 00:55:27,869
Their case went all the way to
the Supreme Court, and they won.
898
00:55:36,002 --> 00:55:40,340
-The Montgomery
Improvement Association
899
00:55:40,382 --> 00:55:44,886
recommends that
the 11-month-old protest
900
00:55:44,928 --> 00:55:50,016
against the city buses
will be called off,
901
00:55:50,058 --> 00:55:53,061
and that the Negro citizens
of Montgomery, Alabama,
902
00:55:53,103 --> 00:55:57,315
will return to the buses
on a nonsegregated basis.
903
00:55:57,357 --> 00:55:58,817
-Freedom
904
00:55:58,858 --> 00:56:01,236
[ Cheers and applause ]
905
00:56:01,277 --> 00:56:02,654
Freedom
906
00:56:02,696 --> 00:56:04,072
-The Montgomery bus boycott
907
00:56:04,114 --> 00:56:06,700
is the most successful boycott
in U.S. history.
908
00:56:06,741 --> 00:56:08,576
People have been trying
to replicate it for forever.
909
00:56:08,618 --> 00:56:10,328
I think if social movements
could understand
910
00:56:10,370 --> 00:56:12,247
the bus boycott,
we could win everything.
911
00:56:12,288 --> 00:56:14,833
-I make the rules as I go
912
00:56:14,874 --> 00:56:17,002
Choose my destiny
913
00:56:17,043 --> 00:56:18,586
I follow my dreams
914
00:56:18,628 --> 00:56:21,756
Make no apologies
915
00:56:21,798 --> 00:56:24,634
Fear has no hold on me
916
00:56:24,676 --> 00:56:27,804
Freedom
917
00:56:29,139 --> 00:56:31,516
Freedom
918
00:56:34,436 --> 00:56:36,479
-All sorts of rumors
snake through Montgomery's
919
00:56:36,521 --> 00:56:38,565
white community
about Rosa Parks --
920
00:56:38,606 --> 00:56:42,068
that she's an NAACP plant,
that she's a Communist plant,
921
00:56:42,110 --> 00:56:44,404
she has a car,
she's Mexican,
922
00:56:44,446 --> 00:56:48,074
that she's not even
from Montgomery.
923
00:56:48,116 --> 00:56:50,243
-We don't often want to talk
about the reprisals.
924
00:56:50,285 --> 00:56:52,954
We don't want to talk
about the consequences
925
00:56:52,996 --> 00:56:57,167
and how people make
personal sacrifices
926
00:56:57,208 --> 00:57:01,046
in order to advance
a broader movement.
927
00:57:01,087 --> 00:57:04,841
-After the incident,
I worked five weeks
928
00:57:04,883 --> 00:57:06,259
through the month of December
929
00:57:06,301 --> 00:57:08,762
and was discharged from my job
930
00:57:17,187 --> 00:57:18,438
-The owner of the barbershop
on the Air Force base
931
00:57:20,482 --> 00:57:23,985
prohibits all discussion
of Rosa Parks
932
00:57:24,027 --> 00:57:26,154
and all discussion
of the bus boycott.
933
00:57:26,196 --> 00:57:28,865
And Raymond resigns in protest,
thinking
934
00:57:28,907 --> 00:57:30,909
that if he can't
defend his wife,
935
00:57:30,950 --> 00:57:33,995
that he's being silenced.
936
00:57:36,247 --> 00:57:40,835
-Dr. King ends up
getting the accolades.
937
00:57:40,877 --> 00:57:43,380
He is invited everywhere
to speak,
938
00:57:43,421 --> 00:57:46,466
gets an honorarium, makes money,
survives.
939
00:57:46,508 --> 00:57:49,135
He's a hero.
940
00:57:49,177 --> 00:57:51,137
-The civil rights groups
would have her go out
941
00:57:51,179 --> 00:57:54,391
and speak at events
and raise money,
942
00:57:54,432 --> 00:57:56,184
but it never occurred
to anybody
943
00:57:56,226 --> 00:58:00,563
that they ought to find some way
for them to be supported.
944
00:58:00,605 --> 00:58:02,732
I think that part of the way
she was treated
945
00:58:02,774 --> 00:58:07,362
was because she was a woman,
therefore taken advantage.
946
00:58:07,404 --> 00:58:09,406
-Montgomery's a smaller town.
947
00:58:09,447 --> 00:58:15,078
People had to know
that she was no longer working.
948
00:58:15,120 --> 00:58:18,957
King, none of them
offered her a job.
949
00:58:18,998 --> 00:58:21,167
Rosa Parks was also
a prideful woman
950
00:58:21,209 --> 00:58:24,421
and would not dare ask.
951
00:58:24,462 --> 00:58:27,841
And I don't think
she was the kind of woman
952
00:58:27,882 --> 00:58:30,468
that would think she was owed.
953
00:58:34,347 --> 00:58:37,600
-Auntie Rosa never discussed
any hardship.
954
00:58:37,642 --> 00:58:41,271
You would not know
she was hungry, for instance.
955
00:58:41,312 --> 00:58:44,607
You wouldn't know that
she could not pay this bill.
956
00:58:47,569 --> 00:58:49,112
-They were getting
death threats,
957
00:58:49,154 --> 00:58:50,739
and her mother was on the phone
958
00:58:50,780 --> 00:58:54,284
all hours of the night
to stop calls from coming in.
959
00:58:54,325 --> 00:58:56,828
-They had to go somewhere
because of her safety,
960
00:58:56,870 --> 00:58:58,872
so she called on my father,
961
00:58:58,913 --> 00:59:02,584
and they knew if she called,
it was an emergency.
962
00:59:02,625 --> 00:59:04,753
They needed to get her
out of there.
963
00:59:11,176 --> 00:59:13,470
-My grandfather,
Sylvester McCauley I,
964
00:59:13,511 --> 00:59:16,973
he told her, "Don't worry about
any of that. Come up to Detroit.
965
00:59:17,015 --> 00:59:18,433
We will protect you.
966
00:59:18,475 --> 00:59:21,519
We will have more opportunities
up here for you.
967
00:59:21,561 --> 00:59:24,522
And, plus, you will be around
family that loves you."
968
00:59:31,529 --> 00:59:34,908
-Here, you have this flood
of people coming into Detroit
969
00:59:34,949 --> 00:59:38,244
because of the automobile
industry, was the magnet.
970
00:59:38,286 --> 00:59:40,789
My goodness, it was like
you dropped the plow,
971
00:59:40,830 --> 00:59:45,377
you dispensed with the mule,
and headed for Detroit.
972
00:59:45,418 --> 00:59:47,837
However, you had
restrictive covenants
973
00:59:47,879 --> 00:59:51,341
that limited the movement
of the black people
974
00:59:51,383 --> 00:59:54,177
to just one part
of the city.
975
00:59:54,219 --> 00:59:57,055
These are some things
that Rosa Parks' brother
976
00:59:57,097 --> 01:00:00,517
understood
long before she arrived.
977
01:00:00,558 --> 01:00:02,560
Sylvester,
he had already experienced
978
01:00:02,602 --> 01:00:05,814
a lot of these things, so
he was able to talk to Rosa
979
01:00:05,855 --> 01:00:09,484
about some of this history
and background.
980
01:00:09,526 --> 01:00:11,611
-"I don't know whether I could
have been more effective
981
01:00:11,653 --> 01:00:13,530
as a worker for freedom
in the South
982
01:00:13,571 --> 01:00:16,116
than I am here in Detroit.
983
01:00:16,157 --> 01:00:18,660
Really the same thing
that has occurred in the South
984
01:00:18,702 --> 01:00:21,413
is existing here
to a certain degree.
985
01:00:21,454 --> 01:00:25,500
We do have the same problems."
986
01:00:25,542 --> 01:00:27,043
-Blacks in Detroit
were relegated
987
01:00:27,085 --> 01:00:28,878
to the worst parts of town,
988
01:00:28,920 --> 01:00:33,008
called Black Bottom
and Hastings Street.
989
01:00:33,049 --> 01:00:37,887
But we built homes there, and
institutions developed there.
990
01:00:37,929 --> 01:00:40,557
-It was very difficult,
to say the least.
991
01:00:40,598 --> 01:00:45,061
So what my grandfather would do,
he would just grow his own food.
992
01:00:45,103 --> 01:00:46,563
-My father had a green thumb.
993
01:00:46,604 --> 01:00:49,983
He'd work all day
in the Chrysler's plant,
994
01:00:50,025 --> 01:00:53,987
and then he would come home
and work a garden.
995
01:00:54,029 --> 01:00:57,782
We grew up on fresh tomatoes,
green peppers, onion.
996
01:00:57,824 --> 01:01:00,535
There was enough food in that
little plot for him,
997
01:01:00,577 --> 01:01:03,872
grandmother,
Auntie Rosa, and Uncle Parks.
998
01:01:03,913 --> 01:01:06,291
-Rosa Parks is a very
creative person,
999
01:01:06,332 --> 01:01:09,210
and she would take found items
and create stuff out of them --
1000
01:01:09,252 --> 01:01:12,589
of course, dresses
and ideas of quilts.
1001
01:01:12,630 --> 01:01:15,133
-She taught us how to sew.
1002
01:01:15,175 --> 01:01:17,427
The stitches
were absolutely perfect.
1003
01:01:17,469 --> 01:01:19,012
She could tailor anything.
1004
01:01:19,054 --> 01:01:24,017
She could look at something
and go home and sew it.
1005
01:01:24,059 --> 01:01:28,605
-1959 is probably the worst year
for the Parks' family.
1006
01:01:28,646 --> 01:01:32,817
They record
an annual income of $700.
1007
01:01:32,859 --> 01:01:37,614
She can't find steady work,
Raymond can't find steady work.
1008
01:01:37,655 --> 01:01:41,076
In 1960, Jetmagazine
will run an exposé
1009
01:01:41,117 --> 01:01:42,494
where they describe her
1010
01:01:42,535 --> 01:01:46,706
as a tattered version
of her former self.
1011
01:01:46,748 --> 01:01:50,126
This article leads to people
raising money for her
1012
01:01:50,168 --> 01:01:51,920
around the country.
1013
01:01:54,297 --> 01:01:57,008
They move into a better place
to live --
1014
01:01:57,050 --> 01:02:00,845
the first floor of a duplex
on Virginia Park.
1015
01:02:00,887 --> 01:02:03,640
Rosa Parks will get a job
in 1961
1016
01:02:03,682 --> 01:02:05,642
at the Stockton Sewing Company.
1017
01:02:05,684 --> 01:02:07,560
It's basically
a glorified sweatshop.
1018
01:02:07,602 --> 01:02:10,397
She's doing piecework there.
1019
01:02:10,438 --> 01:02:14,442
And Raymond will start to barber
around the corner
1020
01:02:14,484 --> 01:02:16,528
at the Wildemere Barbershop.
1021
01:03:15,712 --> 01:03:18,590
-I opened Vaughn's Bookstore
in '59,
1022
01:03:18,631 --> 01:03:20,842
the second black bookstore
to open in America.
1023
01:03:20,884 --> 01:03:24,012
It was a very hot period
for black books.
1024
01:03:24,054 --> 01:03:27,599
They were just coming into vogue
at that particular time.
1025
01:03:27,640 --> 01:03:30,226
I met Mrs. Parks
when she was a customer.
1026
01:03:30,268 --> 01:03:31,895
She and her husband, Raymond,
1027
01:03:31,936 --> 01:03:34,272
would walk up to the bookstore
on a regular basis,
1028
01:03:34,314 --> 01:03:38,985
because we were about 8 or
10 blocks from where she lived.
1029
01:03:39,027 --> 01:03:40,987
Every Thursday night,
I would have meetings.
1030
01:03:41,029 --> 01:03:44,240
Rosa Parks was there, and she
was right up on the front seat.
1031
01:03:44,282 --> 01:03:45,742
I always talked politics
with her,
1032
01:03:45,784 --> 01:03:47,327
and I got to know
her pretty well,
1033
01:03:47,369 --> 01:03:51,373
and also her husband.
He was a very fine gentleman.
1034
01:03:51,414 --> 01:03:52,624
-You never hear that much
about Raymond
1035
01:03:52,665 --> 01:03:54,417
because he was a very quiet,
1036
01:03:54,459 --> 01:03:57,462
behind-the-scenes
kind of individual.
1037
01:03:57,504 --> 01:04:01,341
You'll find that Rosa Parks and
Raymond Parks are inseparable.
1038
01:04:01,383 --> 01:04:03,593
Often, the man is out front,
1039
01:04:03,635 --> 01:04:05,136
and you never hear
about the wife.
1040
01:04:05,178 --> 01:04:07,055
Here, the reverse is true.
1041
01:04:07,097 --> 01:04:10,141
-Uncle Parks was willing to let
Auntie Rosa step out there
1042
01:04:10,183 --> 01:04:11,393
and just do her thing.
1043
01:04:11,434 --> 01:04:13,019
He was not the kind of husband
1044
01:04:13,061 --> 01:04:15,105
that stood in the way
of Auntie Rosa.
1045
01:04:15,146 --> 01:04:18,358
She could make any speech,
travel where she wanted.
1046
01:04:29,786 --> 01:04:33,748
-"I was with the March
on Washington in 1963.
1047
01:04:33,790 --> 01:04:35,875
That was a great occasion.
1048
01:04:35,917 --> 01:04:39,504
But women were not allowed
to play much of a role.
1049
01:04:39,546 --> 01:04:43,842
-The March on Washington
is one example of how
1050
01:04:43,883 --> 01:04:46,845
black women
are often marginalized
1051
01:04:46,886 --> 01:04:48,805
in the civil rights movement.
1052
01:04:48,847 --> 01:04:50,724
If you look at those who spoke,
1053
01:04:50,765 --> 01:04:52,350
with the exception
of Daisy Bates,
1054
01:04:52,392 --> 01:04:54,811
who only spoke
for a few minutes,
1055
01:04:54,853 --> 01:04:59,774
the entire program
was dominated by men.
1056
01:04:59,816 --> 01:05:03,445
-"There was a tribute to women
in which A. Philip Randolph,
1057
01:05:03,486 --> 01:05:05,488
one of the organizers
of the march,
1058
01:05:05,530 --> 01:05:06,781
introduced some of the women
1059
01:05:06,823 --> 01:05:09,242
who had participated
in the struggle,
1060
01:05:09,284 --> 01:05:11,911
and I was one of them."
1061
01:05:11,953 --> 01:05:15,331
-They would have her stand up
and wave at people --
1062
01:05:15,373 --> 01:05:20,086
"There's Rosa Parks. She sat
down on the bus in Montgomery.
1063
01:05:20,128 --> 01:05:22,589
Wave at them, Rosa Parks,
Mrs. Parks."
1064
01:05:22,630 --> 01:05:23,965
Then she'd sit down.
1065
01:05:24,007 --> 01:05:27,594
They never said
anything beyond that.
1066
01:05:27,635 --> 01:05:31,264
-I was 15 when I went to
the March on Washington.
1067
01:05:31,306 --> 01:05:36,061
I stood there in awe of all
of the people that had gathered.
1068
01:05:36,102 --> 01:05:39,397
And I remember Lena Horne
moving swiftly
1069
01:05:39,439 --> 01:05:41,399
to the front of the stage,
1070
01:05:41,441 --> 01:05:45,362
picked up a microphone,
and sung two syllables.
1071
01:05:45,403 --> 01:05:48,448
-Freedom
1072
01:05:48,490 --> 01:05:50,742
-And they lingered in the air.
1073
01:05:50,784 --> 01:05:53,912
There was a blanket of silence.
1074
01:06:12,972 --> 01:06:16,851
-There's so much patriarchy
built into the movement,
1075
01:06:16,893 --> 01:06:19,479
like it's built into
so many institutions.
1076
01:06:19,521 --> 01:06:24,609
Women raise most of the money,
do most of the organizing,
1077
01:06:24,651 --> 01:06:26,945
but when you go back
and check the record,
1078
01:06:26,986 --> 01:06:30,824
those who've been labeled
presidents or directors
1079
01:06:30,865 --> 01:06:34,786
or the leaders,
the Grand Poobah,
1080
01:06:34,828 --> 01:06:36,496
largely have been men,
1081
01:06:36,538 --> 01:06:38,206
while the women
have done the work.
1082
01:06:38,248 --> 01:06:41,710
And Mother Parks,
she was doing the work.
1083
01:06:41,751 --> 01:06:43,253
-[ Speaks indistinctly ]
1084
01:06:43,294 --> 01:06:45,046
[ Cheers and applause ]
1085
01:06:45,088 --> 01:06:49,134
-By the 1960s,
you have this evolving
1086
01:06:49,175 --> 01:06:51,761
black liberation struggle
in this country,
1087
01:06:51,803 --> 01:06:57,058
and Rosa is not at all
outside the realm of that,
1088
01:06:57,100 --> 01:06:58,893
because she understands
the urgency,
1089
01:06:58,935 --> 01:07:00,478
the struggle that's going on,
1090
01:07:00,520 --> 01:07:02,605
because she identified
strongly with young people,
1091
01:07:02,647 --> 01:07:06,943
particularly the militant,
radical people in the society.
1092
01:07:14,075 --> 01:07:16,202
-Malcolm X has come to Detroit,
1093
01:07:16,244 --> 01:07:20,498
and he makes it known
he wants to meet Rosa Parks.
1094
01:07:20,540 --> 01:07:22,292
Malcolm X looked on two people
1095
01:07:22,334 --> 01:07:24,044
in the civil rights movement
with awe,
1096
01:07:24,085 --> 01:07:29,466
and that was Fannie Lou Hamer
and Rosa Parks.
1097
01:07:29,507 --> 01:07:35,430
-Whenever he had an opportunity
to talk about the role of women,
1098
01:07:35,472 --> 01:07:38,516
Rosa Parks would be the first
thing out of his mouth.
1099
01:07:38,558 --> 01:07:40,810
His thing was, you've got
to push a little bit harder,
1100
01:07:40,852 --> 01:07:42,854
be a bit more aggressive,
1101
01:07:42,896 --> 01:07:45,774
take a stronger stance
for self-determination,
1102
01:07:45,815 --> 01:07:48,943
for independence
and liberation in our society.
1103
01:07:48,985 --> 01:07:50,445
So Malcolm would see Rosa
1104
01:07:50,487 --> 01:07:55,158
as, like, certainly a soldier
in all of this.
1105
01:07:55,200 --> 01:07:58,745
-She was totally enthralled
by the Malcolm idea.
1106
01:07:58,787 --> 01:08:02,707
He was so dynamic,
he so spoke the truth.
1107
01:08:02,749 --> 01:08:04,125
-You and your government
1108
01:08:04,167 --> 01:08:07,420
preach one thing
and practice another thing.
1109
01:08:07,462 --> 01:08:09,464
You say that this is the land
of equality,
1110
01:08:09,506 --> 01:08:11,716
and 20 million of your black
so-called citizens
1111
01:08:11,758 --> 01:08:13,385
don't have equality.
1112
01:08:13,426 --> 01:08:16,846
-The strength of him
and the intelligence of him
1113
01:08:16,888 --> 01:08:18,098
and the commitment of him
1114
01:08:18,139 --> 01:08:23,144
was right up the alley
of Rosa Parks.
1115
01:08:25,897 --> 01:08:27,941
-"He had come to Detroit
to speak,
1116
01:08:27,982 --> 01:08:30,235
and I was sitting
in the front row.
1117
01:08:30,276 --> 01:08:32,737
His home in New York
had been firebombed,
1118
01:08:32,779 --> 01:08:36,908
and all his clothes had been
damaged by water and smoke,
1119
01:08:36,950 --> 01:08:38,660
but he came to Detroit anyway
1120
01:08:38,702 --> 01:08:41,287
because he had made
a commitment."
1121
01:08:41,329 --> 01:08:43,248
-They meet for the last time
about a week
1122
01:08:43,289 --> 01:08:45,333
before he's assassinated.
1123
01:08:45,375 --> 01:08:49,671
-"I spoke to him, and he
autographed the program for me.
1124
01:08:49,713 --> 01:08:51,923
I had a lot of admiration
for him.
1125
01:08:51,965 --> 01:08:54,801
He was a very brilliant man.
1126
01:08:54,843 --> 01:08:56,344
Dr. King used to say
1127
01:08:56,386 --> 01:08:59,431
that black people should
receive brutality with love,
1128
01:08:59,472 --> 01:09:02,183
and I believed
this was a goal to work for,
1129
01:09:02,225 --> 01:09:05,645
but I could not reach
that point in my mind at all.
1130
01:09:05,687 --> 01:09:09,190
Malcolm wasn't a supporter
of nonviolence either."
1131
01:09:09,232 --> 01:09:12,110
-It's her encounters
with Malcolm X
1132
01:09:12,152 --> 01:09:17,991
that create what politics looks
like for Rosa in the 1960s.
1133
01:10:02,911 --> 01:10:04,412
[ Gunshots ]
1134
01:10:04,454 --> 01:10:07,040
-The police in Detroit
were brutal.
1135
01:10:07,082 --> 01:10:10,335
In fact, police brutality
that ultimately led
1136
01:10:10,377 --> 01:10:15,548
to the Detroit Rebellion in '67,
which was at that point,
1137
01:10:15,590 --> 01:10:20,512
the largest urban rebellion
in U.S. history.
1138
01:10:20,553 --> 01:10:24,349
-"The establishment of
white people will antagonize
1139
01:10:24,391 --> 01:10:27,060
and provoke violence,
1140
01:10:27,102 --> 01:10:29,187
and the young people
want to present themselves
1141
01:10:29,229 --> 01:10:32,482
as human beings and come
into their own as men,
1142
01:10:32,524 --> 01:10:35,860
there is always something
to cut them down."
1143
01:10:35,902 --> 01:10:38,863
-The Michigan National Guard
on the west side,
1144
01:10:38,905 --> 01:10:40,240
they were beating folks
1145
01:10:40,281 --> 01:10:42,409
and busting windows
out of folks' homes.
1146
01:10:42,450 --> 01:10:46,579
On the east side of Detroit,
they sent in the 82nd Airborne.
1147
01:10:46,621 --> 01:10:48,331
[ Indistinct shouting ]
1148
01:10:55,296 --> 01:10:58,883
-Close to 50 people, almost all
of them African American,
1149
01:10:58,925 --> 01:11:00,176
were killed by the police
1150
01:11:00,218 --> 01:11:02,512
and killed
by the National Guard.
1151
01:11:05,682 --> 01:11:07,392
-During the rebellion time,
1152
01:11:07,434 --> 01:11:13,231
three young men were killed
at the Algiers Motel.
1153
01:11:13,273 --> 01:11:17,569
There was a blackout on news
about the incident.
1154
01:11:17,610 --> 01:11:21,865
It's obvious nothing
was happening, no justice.
1155
01:11:21,906 --> 01:11:25,410
-So young militants decide to
organize a people's tribunal
1156
01:11:25,452 --> 01:11:29,289
to bring the facts
of the case to the community,
1157
01:11:29,330 --> 01:11:33,293
and they ask Rosa Parks
to serve on the jury.
1158
01:11:33,335 --> 01:11:34,919
-I was one
of the young radicals.
1159
01:11:34,961 --> 01:11:37,422
I said, "She's not going to
go for this."
1160
01:11:37,464 --> 01:11:43,261
I asked her. She says,
"Certainly. I'm glad you asked."
1161
01:11:43,303 --> 01:11:47,849
We had the tribunal here at
the Church of the Black Madonna.
1162
01:11:47,891 --> 01:11:50,268
-Jesus was concerned
about freedom,
1163
01:11:50,310 --> 01:11:52,437
about people coming together,
1164
01:11:52,479 --> 01:11:54,522
about the unity
of a black people
1165
01:11:54,564 --> 01:11:58,818
fighting against the oppression
of a white Gentile nation, Rome.
1166
01:12:02,906 --> 01:12:04,866
-The Shrine of the Black Madonna
1167
01:12:04,908 --> 01:12:07,452
was part of the whole
Black Power,
1168
01:12:07,494 --> 01:12:10,455
black liberation movement
of that period.
1169
01:12:10,497 --> 01:12:15,293
First time I met Rosa Parks
was in 1967
1170
01:12:15,335 --> 01:12:19,422
at the people's trial
that was taking place.
1171
01:12:19,464 --> 01:12:23,301
-This entire church was packed.
1172
01:12:23,343 --> 01:12:27,263
All of us
were there to see and witness
1173
01:12:27,305 --> 01:12:32,102
her display of what we call
the imminence of justice.
1174
01:12:32,143 --> 01:12:34,938
-Well, the conclusion was that
they were guilty.
1175
01:12:38,024 --> 01:12:41,736
They was guilty of murder
in the first degree.
1176
01:12:41,778 --> 01:12:43,279
-I don't think people understand
1177
01:12:43,321 --> 01:12:45,323
how well-trained
Mrs. Parks was.
1178
01:12:45,365 --> 01:12:48,660
I don't think they understand
what a good organizer she was.
1179
01:12:48,702 --> 01:12:50,036
I don't think they understand
1180
01:12:50,078 --> 01:12:52,330
how long she had been
in the struggle,
1181
01:12:52,372 --> 01:12:53,748
and I don't think
they understood
1182
01:12:53,790 --> 01:12:55,458
how radical her understanding
1183
01:12:55,500 --> 01:12:58,670
of what the kind of change
we need is.
1184
01:12:58,712 --> 01:13:03,258
And it's a part of her magic,
really, that on the one hand,
1185
01:13:03,299 --> 01:13:11,016
she can cultivate this notion
of innocence, if you will,
1186
01:13:11,057 --> 01:13:17,939
while acting on behalf of and
espousing very radical views.
1187
01:13:20,275 --> 01:13:22,068
-Politically, we were changing,
1188
01:13:22,110 --> 01:13:25,447
and black people were
growing in percentage
1189
01:13:25,488 --> 01:13:28,616
of the people in Detroit,
and they were beginning to think
1190
01:13:28,658 --> 01:13:31,202
that we need to have
our own people representing us.
1191
01:13:31,244 --> 01:13:33,038
They no longer wanted
to be represented
1192
01:13:33,079 --> 01:13:36,124
primarily by white people.
1193
01:13:36,166 --> 01:13:39,961
-It has been made a very
bad neighborhood to live in.
1194
01:13:40,003 --> 01:13:41,296
We would like to take action
1195
01:13:41,338 --> 01:13:43,381
to see this neighborhood
cleaned up,
1196
01:13:43,423 --> 01:13:46,593
because I'd be afraid to send
a child of mine to the store.
1197
01:13:53,308 --> 01:13:55,268
-John Conyers,
he was a freedom fighter.
1198
01:13:55,310 --> 01:13:57,604
Coretta Scott King, she told me
1199
01:13:57,645 --> 01:13:59,898
that Mother Parks got
her husband
1200
01:13:59,939 --> 01:14:02,067
to endorse
Congressman John Conyers
1201
01:14:02,108 --> 01:14:04,611
for Congress, and he was
the only elected official
1202
01:14:04,652 --> 01:14:06,196
he ever endorsed.
1203
01:14:06,237 --> 01:14:07,906
-Mrs. Parks, she helped him.
1204
01:14:07,947 --> 01:14:10,742
He had a difficult time,
because the Democratic Party
1205
01:14:10,784 --> 01:14:14,621
did not support him
in the beginning of his running.
1206
01:14:14,662 --> 01:14:19,584
-I think what she did was bring
a presence of authenticity.
1207
01:14:19,626 --> 01:14:20,752
-She was at meetings,
1208
01:14:20,794 --> 01:14:23,088
and she was always there
and supported him.
1209
01:14:23,129 --> 01:14:25,757
And she helped us
in our voting drive,
1210
01:14:25,799 --> 01:14:28,468
and we went out and got
people registered to vote.
1211
01:14:28,510 --> 01:14:30,470
Mrs. Parks was involved
in all of that.
1212
01:14:30,512 --> 01:14:33,973
She was in it,
and we were in it to win it.
1213
01:14:36,559 --> 01:14:42,232
-In 1965, John Conyers
is elected to Congress,
1214
01:14:42,273 --> 01:14:47,445
and the first thing he does
is hire Rosa Parks.
1215
01:14:47,487 --> 01:14:52,951
-And to my honor and delight,
she did accept,
1216
01:14:52,992 --> 01:14:59,708
and we were happy to have her
in my original staff.
1217
01:14:59,749 --> 01:15:03,461
-She has been an activist
for over three decades,
1218
01:15:03,503 --> 01:15:08,049
she is 52, and this is her
first paid political job.
1219
01:15:08,091 --> 01:15:10,010
This position comes with
health insurance,
1220
01:15:10,051 --> 01:15:13,638
which is incredibly important.
1221
01:15:13,680 --> 01:15:16,224
-He was in awe
of Mother Rosa Parks,
1222
01:15:16,266 --> 01:15:18,226
even though she worked for him.
1223
01:15:20,186 --> 01:15:22,856
-I had worked on John Conyers'
first campaign.
1224
01:15:22,897 --> 01:15:26,818
John Conyers came out
of a labor movement family.
1225
01:15:26,860 --> 01:15:30,697
So there was a lot of hostility
toward John Conyers
1226
01:15:30,739 --> 01:15:32,198
for being John Conyers,
1227
01:15:32,240 --> 01:15:34,200
never mind for hiring
Mrs. Parks.
1228
01:15:34,242 --> 01:15:36,536
That was kind of
throwing gasoline on the fire,
1229
01:15:36,578 --> 01:15:39,581
I think, in the eyes
of a lot of white people.
1230
01:15:55,388 --> 01:15:58,391
-John, he said, "I just want
Ms. Parks in my office.
1231
01:15:58,433 --> 01:16:00,060
She can do whatever
she want to do.
1232
01:16:00,101 --> 01:16:02,812
Her name is Rosa Parks."
1233
01:16:02,854 --> 01:16:04,481
-The day-to-day
answering the phones,
1234
01:16:04,522 --> 01:16:06,232
the recording,
the note-taking.
1235
01:16:06,274 --> 01:16:09,110
Whatever John Conyers asked her,
she did.
1236
01:16:09,152 --> 01:16:13,031
-She was a humble person.
1237
01:16:13,073 --> 01:16:18,703
Rosa Parks essentially had
a saint-like quality.
1238
01:16:18,745 --> 01:16:21,081
-Conyers told me once
that Mother Parks
1239
01:16:21,122 --> 01:16:23,667
asked him to reduce her salary
because she told him that,
1240
01:16:23,708 --> 01:16:28,880
"People keep giving me awards
and honors and tributes.
1241
01:16:28,922 --> 01:16:31,174
And I feel bad when I have to
leave your office
1242
01:16:31,216 --> 01:16:33,385
and go pick up these honors."
1243
01:16:33,426 --> 01:16:35,887
And John Conyers said,
"No, Mrs. Parks.
1244
01:16:35,929 --> 01:16:38,890
It's an honor for me that
you're working in my office,
1245
01:16:38,932 --> 01:16:42,477
and I will not be
reducing your salary."
1246
01:16:50,402 --> 01:16:52,487
-The Reverend
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
1247
01:16:52,529 --> 01:16:54,406
father
of the nonviolent movement
1248
01:16:54,447 --> 01:16:55,824
in the American
civil rights struggle,
1249
01:16:55,865 --> 01:16:58,034
was killed by
an assassin's bullet tonight
1250
01:16:58,076 --> 01:16:59,703
in Memphis, Tennessee.
1251
01:16:59,744 --> 01:17:02,205
The 39-year-old Nobel Peace
Prize winner was hit in the neck
1252
01:17:02,247 --> 01:17:05,000
by a bullet as he stood
on the balcony of his hotel
1253
01:17:05,041 --> 01:17:09,170
and died less than an hour later
in a hospital emergency room.
1254
01:17:09,212 --> 01:17:12,674
-"I remember my mother and I
were listening to the radio.
1255
01:17:12,716 --> 01:17:15,135
It was approaching Easter time.
1256
01:17:15,176 --> 01:17:16,636
The program was interrupted
1257
01:17:16,678 --> 01:17:20,098
to say that Dr. King
had been shot.
1258
01:17:20,140 --> 01:17:22,267
It was very devastating.
1259
01:17:22,308 --> 01:17:24,019
I was lost.
1260
01:17:24,060 --> 01:17:26,855
How else can I describe it?
1261
01:17:26,896 --> 01:17:29,566
I was deeply grieved.
1262
01:17:29,607 --> 01:17:33,278
Mama and I wept
quietly together."
1263
01:17:33,319 --> 01:17:35,864
-She starts playing Sam Cooke,
1264
01:17:35,905 --> 01:17:38,742
"A Change Is Gonna Come,"
over and over.
1265
01:17:41,995 --> 01:17:46,583
-I was born by the river
1266
01:17:48,251 --> 01:17:50,795
In a little tent
1267
01:17:50,837 --> 01:17:56,843
Oh, and just like the river,I've been running
1268
01:17:56,885 --> 01:17:58,887
Ever since
1269
01:17:58,928 --> 01:18:02,599
It's been a long
1270
01:18:02,640 --> 01:18:07,771
A long time coming, but I know
1271
01:18:07,812 --> 01:18:12,025
-"His smooth voice
was like medicine to the soul.
1272
01:18:12,067 --> 01:18:16,363
It was as if Dr. King
was speaking directly to me."
1273
01:18:20,742 --> 01:18:22,619
-I rarely saw her show emotion,
1274
01:18:22,660 --> 01:18:25,121
but when Dr. King
was assassinated,
1275
01:18:25,163 --> 01:18:27,999
I saw her cry at his funeral.
1276
01:18:34,339 --> 01:18:37,509
-"I was losing the people
I love best.
1277
01:18:37,550 --> 01:18:39,594
My husband and brother
were all sick,
1278
01:18:39,636 --> 01:18:42,013
and there was a time
when I was traveling every day
1279
01:18:42,055 --> 01:18:45,225
to three different hospitals
to visit them.
1280
01:18:45,266 --> 01:18:49,896
I had to quit working full time
and work only part time."
1281
01:18:49,938 --> 01:18:53,608
-Auntie Rosa and Uncle Parks
loved each other until the end.
1282
01:18:53,650 --> 01:18:58,780
As Uncle Parks'
health deteriorated,
1283
01:18:58,822 --> 01:19:02,617
the loving way that
she would take care of him.
1284
01:19:02,659 --> 01:19:08,123
They were so closely
joined together.
1285
01:19:08,164 --> 01:19:12,127
-"Parks died in 1977,
when he was 74,
1286
01:19:12,168 --> 01:19:15,046
after a five-year struggle
against cancer.
1287
01:19:15,088 --> 01:19:17,132
My brother Sylvester died
three months
1288
01:19:17,173 --> 01:19:20,385
after that, also of cancer.
1289
01:19:20,427 --> 01:19:22,971
Mama was ill with cancer, too.
1290
01:19:23,013 --> 01:19:27,642
I cared for her at home until
she died at the age of 91."
1291
01:19:35,817 --> 01:19:39,487
-Dearborn is a predominantly
white affluent suburb,
1292
01:19:39,529 --> 01:19:41,156
home to the Ford Motor Company,
1293
01:19:41,197 --> 01:19:43,324
but many of the people
who work in Dearborn
1294
01:19:43,366 --> 01:19:46,077
come from Detroit,
63% black.
1295
01:19:46,119 --> 01:19:51,082
-The Dearborn boycott really
started where a black family
1296
01:19:51,124 --> 01:19:54,544
had gone into a Dearborn park
to have a picnic.
1297
01:19:54,586 --> 01:19:57,839
A white family showed up
and said,
1298
01:19:57,881 --> 01:20:01,343
"Well, you're not residents
of Dearborn,
1299
01:20:01,384 --> 01:20:04,095
so you can't use this park."
1300
01:20:04,137 --> 01:20:09,517
So the white family went to
the city council of Dearborn
1301
01:20:09,559 --> 01:20:13,521
and got them to pass
an ordinance
1302
01:20:13,563 --> 01:20:18,026
to restrict nonresidents
from using a public park.
1303
01:20:18,068 --> 01:20:22,405
In other words, black folks,
don't use our parks.
1304
01:20:22,447 --> 01:20:24,199
Mrs. Parks was participating
1305
01:20:24,240 --> 01:20:28,036
in the discussion, and we said,
"Well, hell,
1306
01:20:28,078 --> 01:20:31,706
let's boycott Dearborn."
1307
01:20:31,748 --> 01:20:36,544
So it's almost like
the bus boycott.
1308
01:20:36,586 --> 01:20:39,339
There's this photograph
of Mrs. Parks and I
1309
01:20:39,381 --> 01:20:41,424
going to
this news conference,
1310
01:20:41,466 --> 01:20:45,136
and it became front-page news.
1311
01:20:45,178 --> 01:20:48,390
When Rosa Parks
was asked by the media,
1312
01:20:48,431 --> 01:20:50,892
"Do you support this boycott?"
1313
01:20:50,934 --> 01:20:54,938
she said, "I support
this boycott 100%."
1314
01:20:54,979 --> 01:20:57,732
The boycott went from
the local courts
1315
01:20:57,774 --> 01:21:01,903
all the way up
to the Michigan Supreme Court.
1316
01:21:01,945 --> 01:21:05,115
It was ruled unconstitutional.
1317
01:21:06,282 --> 01:21:08,076
We won.
1318
01:21:08,118 --> 01:21:10,995
And once again,
1319
01:21:11,037 --> 01:21:16,459
Mrs. Parks was on the right side
of history.
1320
01:21:20,922 --> 01:21:22,924
-These days,
there still seems to be
1321
01:21:22,966 --> 01:21:27,971
a kind of feeling
of hostility around Alabama
1322
01:21:28,013 --> 01:21:32,767
sometimes towards blacks and
around the South towards blacks.
1323
01:21:32,809 --> 01:21:34,936
-And also in the North,
and wherever we go.
1324
01:21:34,978 --> 01:21:37,272
-Yeah.
-Listen, I can't say why
1325
01:21:37,313 --> 01:21:40,316
because it is another question
that has to be answered
1326
01:21:40,358 --> 01:21:42,610
by those people
who have that attitude,
1327
01:21:42,652 --> 01:21:44,863
why they have it.
1328
01:21:44,904 --> 01:21:48,908
-After the Dearborn boycott,
I put my hat in the ring
1329
01:21:48,950 --> 01:21:53,496
to run for the president
of the Detroit NAACP.
1330
01:21:53,538 --> 01:21:58,543
And I asked Rosa Parks
if she would be my running mate.
1331
01:21:58,585 --> 01:22:01,296
She agreed.
1332
01:22:01,338 --> 01:22:06,217
-"I have been a member
of the NAACP since 1943.
1333
01:22:06,259 --> 01:22:08,428
I believed, and still do,
1334
01:22:08,470 --> 01:22:11,097
that the invitation to become
a member of the board
1335
01:22:11,139 --> 01:22:13,058
will allow me
to give some direction
1336
01:22:13,099 --> 01:22:16,436
to the activities
of the Detroit branch."
1337
01:22:16,478 --> 01:22:19,814
-They put a campaign together.
1338
01:22:19,856 --> 01:22:24,694
Got a prominent minister
to run on another slate.
1339
01:22:24,736 --> 01:22:28,531
They were afraid
of our activism.
1340
01:22:28,573 --> 01:22:30,950
And the thing that
was so hilarious
1341
01:22:30,992 --> 01:22:33,703
as we were campaigning...
1342
01:22:33,745 --> 01:22:40,335
these old-ass men would say,
1343
01:22:40,377 --> 01:22:44,422
"Rosa Parks is too old
1344
01:22:44,464 --> 01:22:49,219
to be officer in the NAACP."
1345
01:22:49,260 --> 01:22:56,351
And my retort would be,
"She's traveling all over
1346
01:22:56,393 --> 01:23:00,188
the world being Rosa Parks,"
1347
01:23:00,230 --> 01:23:03,900
and they could hardly
walk up the steps.
1348
01:23:03,942 --> 01:23:05,944
-"Instead of spending
so much energy
1349
01:23:05,985 --> 01:23:08,113
on an internal power struggle,
1350
01:23:08,154 --> 01:23:10,240
we should be concerned with
what we should be doing
1351
01:23:10,281 --> 01:23:13,743
about increased racism
with the rise of the New Right.
1352
01:23:13,785 --> 01:23:16,037
Our energy should be focused
on responses
1353
01:23:16,079 --> 01:23:20,583
and not on whose name appears
on the NAACP stationary."
1354
01:23:22,961 --> 01:23:29,175
-And they defeated us, but they
didn't control Rosa Parks.
1355
01:23:31,094 --> 01:23:35,348
-"I hope to someday see an end
to the conditions in our country
1356
01:23:35,390 --> 01:23:38,393
that make people
want to hurt others."
1357
01:23:38,435 --> 01:23:40,687
-The kind of compassion she had
for people
1358
01:23:40,729 --> 01:23:43,064
who were struggling
was really refined.
1359
01:23:43,106 --> 01:23:46,484
She was led by
a compassionate heart
1360
01:23:46,526 --> 01:23:48,445
to do really difficult things.
1361
01:23:48,486 --> 01:23:49,863
Challenging things.
1362
01:23:54,492 --> 01:23:59,831
-One night, a young man broke
into Rosa Parks' apartment
1363
01:23:59,873 --> 01:24:04,336
and attempting to rob the house.
1364
01:24:04,377 --> 01:24:08,340
-This man threatened her
and physically beat her.
1365
01:24:08,381 --> 01:24:12,260
-Struck me on this side
of the face
1366
01:24:12,302 --> 01:24:16,931
and on that side of the face
and a little scar up there.
1367
01:24:16,973 --> 01:24:20,685
-And she fought back.
By herself.
1368
01:24:20,727 --> 01:24:22,020
-Caught hold of his shirt
that way
1369
01:24:22,062 --> 01:24:26,107
and pushed him off of me
the best I could.
1370
01:24:26,149 --> 01:24:28,610
-She was elderly.
5'1".
1371
01:24:28,651 --> 01:24:31,071
100 pounds soaking wet.
1372
01:24:31,112 --> 01:24:33,114
She came out fighting
on this guy,
1373
01:24:33,156 --> 01:24:35,533
and I believe
that saved her life.
1374
01:24:35,575 --> 01:24:38,161
She had to go to the hospital,
and she recovered.
1375
01:24:38,203 --> 01:24:41,081
Very painful again because...
1376
01:24:41,122 --> 01:24:42,957
I still, to this day,
1377
01:24:42,999 --> 01:24:46,294
don't understand
how she was by herself.
1378
01:24:46,336 --> 01:24:49,005
Many people offered her money,
gifts, everything,
1379
01:24:49,047 --> 01:24:50,548
and she turned them all down
1380
01:24:50,590 --> 01:24:53,843
because she was not a person
that wanted things.
1381
01:24:53,885 --> 01:24:56,221
She wanted you to be okay
1382
01:24:56,262 --> 01:24:57,847
and fairly treated.
That's it.
1383
01:24:57,889 --> 01:24:59,474
She didn't want
that extra stuff.
1384
01:24:59,516 --> 01:25:01,476
She didn't want the awards.
She didn't want the money.
1385
01:25:01,518 --> 01:25:03,144
She didn't want the fame.
1386
01:25:05,105 --> 01:25:07,190
What she did was,
she forgave the man.
1387
01:25:07,232 --> 01:25:09,442
The media asked her,
"Well, how could this happen?
1388
01:25:09,484 --> 01:25:11,903
What happened after?" She said,
"I already forgave him.
1389
01:25:11,945 --> 01:25:13,697
Just don't do it again."
1390
01:25:24,499 --> 01:25:26,376
-She takes things in stride,
1391
01:25:26,418 --> 01:25:30,422
and she moved on.
1392
01:25:30,463 --> 01:25:32,173
-Just want to get everything
over with it and...
1393
01:25:32,215 --> 01:25:34,676
-Yes, and get back to my job,
what I'm doing.
1394
01:25:34,718 --> 01:25:36,136
[ Laughs ]
1395
01:25:36,177 --> 01:25:38,805
-Rosa Parks, alongside
a longtime friend
1396
01:25:38,847 --> 01:25:40,890
and fellow activist,
Elaine Steele,
1397
01:25:40,932 --> 01:25:44,019
decide to found
the Rosa and Raymond Parks
1398
01:25:44,060 --> 01:25:45,520
Institute for Self Development
1399
01:25:45,562 --> 01:25:49,858
to really cultivate
young people's leadership,
1400
01:25:49,899 --> 01:25:52,110
young people's vision.
1401
01:25:52,152 --> 01:25:54,654
-The gift that Ms. Parks gives
1402
01:25:54,696 --> 01:25:59,451
is the decades-long transitions
1403
01:25:59,492 --> 01:26:01,077
of what your role can
1404
01:26:01,119 --> 01:26:04,664
and should look like
as times shift,
1405
01:26:04,706 --> 01:26:07,584
as conditions change.
1406
01:26:07,625 --> 01:26:13,673
-I welcome this opportunity
to lend my support to freeing
1407
01:26:13,715 --> 01:26:15,467
South African natives
1408
01:26:15,508 --> 01:26:20,555
and freeing those
imprisoned political prisoners
1409
01:26:20,597 --> 01:26:23,516
and all that goes to
make it a free country.
1410
01:26:29,773 --> 01:26:31,941
-Nelson Mandela
walked out of jail
1411
01:26:31,983 --> 01:26:34,903
and into a South Africa
facing rapid,
1412
01:26:34,944 --> 01:26:38,114
some say frightening, change.
1413
01:26:38,156 --> 01:26:42,911
-While he was in prison, he said
he was reading about her,
1414
01:26:42,952 --> 01:26:46,915
and her courage
meant so much to him.
1415
01:26:46,956 --> 01:26:50,001
In 1990, Nelson Mandela
came to Detroit,
1416
01:26:50,043 --> 01:26:52,754
one of the cities
he visited after his release
1417
01:26:52,796 --> 01:26:57,092
following 27 years
of imprisonment in South Africa.
1418
01:26:57,133 --> 01:27:00,595
There was a line of VIPs
greeting him
1419
01:27:00,637 --> 01:27:03,473
as he came to
what was then Tiger Stadium.
1420
01:27:03,515 --> 01:27:05,433
Mother Parks was added
at the last minute,
1421
01:27:05,475 --> 01:27:07,602
so she was
at the end of the line.
1422
01:27:07,644 --> 01:27:10,313
Nelson Mandela looked up,
1423
01:27:10,355 --> 01:27:13,233
saw Mother Parks
at the end of that row.
1424
01:27:13,274 --> 01:27:15,902
He rushed down with his arms
outstretched.
1425
01:27:15,944 --> 01:27:18,863
"Rosa, Rosa, Rosa!"
1426
01:27:18,905 --> 01:27:22,117
And held her so tight
it lifted her up off the ground.
1427
01:27:22,158 --> 01:27:24,160
She was slightly built.
1428
01:27:24,202 --> 01:27:28,123
That exuberant response
from Nelson Mandela
1429
01:27:28,164 --> 01:27:31,876
meant everything about
who was a real celebrity
1430
01:27:31,918 --> 01:27:33,962
among that list of VIPs.
1431
01:27:34,004 --> 01:27:35,839
[ Applause ]
1432
01:27:38,925 --> 01:27:43,555
-"I've never gotten used
to being a public person.
1433
01:27:43,596 --> 01:27:47,142
I have more honorary degrees
than I can count.
1434
01:27:47,183 --> 01:27:49,310
Interviewers still only want
to talk
1435
01:27:49,352 --> 01:27:52,063
about that one evening in 1955
1436
01:27:52,105 --> 01:27:55,191
when I refused to give up
my seat on the bus."
1437
01:28:03,825 --> 01:28:07,120
"I understand
that I am a symbol."
1438
01:28:07,162 --> 01:28:09,664
-There were times when I
would be very discouraged,
1439
01:28:09,706 --> 01:28:18,590
but I always remembered that,
deep within, there's a spirit
1440
01:28:18,631 --> 01:28:23,553
that is beyond
my physical strength.
1441
01:28:23,595 --> 01:28:28,224
-Her whole being
was dedicated to God.
1442
01:28:28,266 --> 01:28:29,934
She was highly spiritual,
1443
01:28:29,976 --> 01:28:33,188
highly understanding of purpose,
1444
01:28:33,229 --> 01:28:35,732
and that we have
a life to serve.
1445
01:28:35,774 --> 01:28:39,194
[ Women singing indistinctly ]
1446
01:28:39,235 --> 01:28:43,239
During the last
couple years of her life,
1447
01:28:43,281 --> 01:28:44,699
me and my father,
we would go see her,
1448
01:28:44,741 --> 01:28:46,451
and her caretaker
would be there with a smile
1449
01:28:46,493 --> 01:28:48,036
on her face, saying,
"Oh, come on in.
1450
01:28:48,078 --> 01:28:50,246
Your Auntie Rosa
asked about y'all."
1451
01:28:52,999 --> 01:28:55,710
-Yes, I was with her
when she passed.
1452
01:28:55,752 --> 01:28:58,213
I grabbed her hand, and I said,
"Rosie, Rosie."
1453
01:28:58,254 --> 01:29:00,465
And it was a doctor there.
1454
01:29:00,507 --> 01:29:03,218
And she came, and she said,
"She's gone."
1455
01:29:16,940 --> 01:29:21,611
-I was born by the river
1456
01:29:23,488 --> 01:29:25,240
In a little tent
1457
01:29:25,281 --> 01:29:28,243
-When Mother Parks
joined the ancestors,
1458
01:29:28,284 --> 01:29:32,872
the Bible was open on her chest
to the 23rd Psalm.
1459
01:29:32,914 --> 01:29:34,249
That says everything.
1460
01:29:34,290 --> 01:29:35,667
-What does the 23rd Psalm say?
1461
01:29:35,709 --> 01:29:38,253
-"The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want.
1462
01:29:38,294 --> 01:29:41,006
He maketh me to lie down
in green pastures.
1463
01:29:41,047 --> 01:29:42,882
He leads me beside
the still waters.
1464
01:29:42,924 --> 01:29:44,634
He restores my soul.
1465
01:29:44,676 --> 01:29:46,094
He leads me in the path
of righteousness
1466
01:29:46,136 --> 01:29:47,804
for his name's sake.
1467
01:29:47,846 --> 01:29:49,764
Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death,
1468
01:29:49,806 --> 01:29:51,141
I will fear no evil.
1469
01:29:51,182 --> 01:29:53,101
For thy rod and thy staff,
they comfort me.
1470
01:29:53,143 --> 01:29:57,313
Thou preparest a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
1471
01:29:59,232 --> 01:30:01,109
Surely goodness and mercy
shall comfort me
1472
01:30:01,151 --> 01:30:02,944
all the days of my life.
1473
01:30:02,986 --> 01:30:06,072
And I will dwell in the house
of the Lord forever."
1474
01:30:10,994 --> 01:30:12,746
-Her body is flown
to Montgomery.
1475
01:30:12,787 --> 01:30:17,917
There is a massive celebration
of her life there.
1476
01:30:17,959 --> 01:30:20,462
Her body is then flown to D.C.
1477
01:30:25,133 --> 01:30:27,135
-Glory
1478
01:30:27,177 --> 01:30:30,180
Glory, glory
1479
01:30:30,221 --> 01:30:32,390
-She becomes the first woman,
1480
01:30:32,432 --> 01:30:35,352
the first civilian,
the second African American
1481
01:30:35,393 --> 01:30:38,980
to lie in honor
in the nation's capital.
1482
01:30:39,022 --> 01:30:42,192
-Hallelujah
1483
01:30:42,233 --> 01:30:45,320
-President George Bush
and 40,000 Americans
1484
01:30:45,362 --> 01:30:48,073
come and pay tribute to her.
1485
01:30:51,785 --> 01:30:53,495
It's really
an unprecedented honor.
1486
01:30:53,536 --> 01:30:56,623
I mean, nothing like this
happened for Martin Luther King.
1487
01:30:58,583 --> 01:31:01,252
Her body is then flown
to Detroit.
1488
01:31:05,131 --> 01:31:07,801
-Put your hands together
and show your love
1489
01:31:07,842 --> 01:31:09,219
for Sister Rosa Parks.
1490
01:31:09,260 --> 01:31:10,595
[ Cheers and applause ]
1491
01:31:10,637 --> 01:31:12,972
Show your love.
1492
01:31:13,014 --> 01:31:14,349
Show your love.
1493
01:31:14,391 --> 01:31:19,854
She sat down to test the law!
1494
01:31:19,896 --> 01:31:21,022
She was a freedom fighter.
1495
01:31:21,064 --> 01:31:22,273
A seamstress.
1496
01:31:22,315 --> 01:31:24,109
That's irrelevant.
1497
01:31:24,150 --> 01:31:25,985
She didn't get locked up
for sewing.
1498
01:31:26,027 --> 01:31:28,738
She was a militant!
1499
01:31:28,780 --> 01:31:30,782
-I'll never forget that.
1500
01:31:30,824 --> 01:31:33,076
And -- Oh, boy.
1501
01:31:33,118 --> 01:31:39,416
That was a great time
of remembrance of a great lady.
1502
01:31:41,751 --> 01:31:43,920
-The whole city showed up.
1503
01:31:43,962 --> 01:31:48,425
The whole world showed up
for Mother Rosa Parks...
1504
01:31:48,466 --> 01:31:50,135
which was wonderful.
1505
01:31:57,976 --> 01:32:00,895
-Ladies and gentlemen,
the statue of Rosa Parks.
1506
01:32:00,937 --> 01:32:03,773
[ Applause ]
1507
01:32:03,815 --> 01:32:06,568
-Rosa Parks simply did
what was natural.
1508
01:32:06,609 --> 01:32:08,820
She was tired, so she sat down.
1509
01:32:08,862 --> 01:32:11,197
Today, we will remember
with admiration
1510
01:32:11,239 --> 01:32:14,242
the simple act of a brave woman.
1511
01:32:15,869 --> 01:32:20,206
-There's a convenience
in making it small --
1512
01:32:20,248 --> 01:32:22,917
a small act, an innocent act.
1513
01:32:22,959 --> 01:32:25,628
I believe when we
devoid it of strategy,
1514
01:32:25,670 --> 01:32:29,674
we create an environment
where it's easy to fix racism.
1515
01:32:33,678 --> 01:32:38,183
-On the day that
Rosa Parks' statue
1516
01:32:38,224 --> 01:32:42,479
was erected in the Capitol,
1517
01:32:42,520 --> 01:32:45,857
the Supreme Court
was hearing oral argument
1518
01:32:45,899 --> 01:32:49,361
in Shelby v. Holder,
the Voting Rights --
1519
01:32:49,402 --> 01:32:53,365
1965 Voting Rights Act law,
1520
01:32:53,406 --> 01:32:56,326
to decide whether it was
still constitutional.
1521
01:32:56,368 --> 01:32:57,660
-This was a very big deal.
1522
01:32:57,702 --> 01:32:59,704
Remember what a moment
in history it was
1523
01:32:59,746 --> 01:33:01,706
when Lyndon Johnson
signed the Voting Rights Act.
1524
01:33:01,748 --> 01:33:03,792
And now the Supreme Court said,
"You know what?
1525
01:33:03,833 --> 01:33:06,753
Times have changed.
The old South is gone.
1526
01:33:06,795 --> 01:33:11,466
These days of systematic
exclusion of Blacks are over."
1527
01:33:11,508 --> 01:33:15,428
-The Court gut
the Voting Rights Act.
1528
01:33:15,470 --> 01:33:18,848
The irony in that is Rosa Parks
1529
01:33:18,890 --> 01:33:22,394
was at the march
from Selma to Montgomery,
1530
01:33:22,435 --> 01:33:23,728
which was part of the move
1531
01:33:23,770 --> 01:33:26,231
to get the Voting Rights Act
of 1965
1532
01:33:26,272 --> 01:33:28,400
passed in the first place.
1533
01:33:28,441 --> 01:33:31,152
And here they are, in fact,
1534
01:33:31,194 --> 01:33:34,989
enhancing voter suppression
on that same day.
1535
01:33:36,783 --> 01:33:41,788
-It erased her whole
political history
1536
01:33:41,830 --> 01:33:46,710
from the 1930s, really,
until the eve of her death.
1537
01:33:46,751 --> 01:33:50,922
It erased the fact
that she was part of a movement
1538
01:33:50,964 --> 01:33:55,427
that was considered
a threat to the United States.
1539
01:33:55,468 --> 01:33:57,721
-And so a statue was the way
1540
01:33:57,762 --> 01:33:59,931
we were going to remember
the civil rights movement.
1541
01:33:59,973 --> 01:34:04,519
And so she gets trapped in this
image of this long-ago problem
1542
01:34:04,561 --> 01:34:06,312
that we had in this country.
1543
01:34:06,354 --> 01:34:08,773
And in many ways,
the statute reduced
1544
01:34:08,815 --> 01:34:12,986
and trapped what her legacy
actually asks of us.
1545
01:34:19,451 --> 01:34:24,622
-She was very mindful
of the ways in which,
1546
01:34:24,664 --> 01:34:28,793
despite the activism
in the 1950s and '60s,
1547
01:34:28,835 --> 01:34:32,088
we had not made the progress
that she'd hoped for.
1548
01:34:32,130 --> 01:34:33,798
-Fighting for voting rights
1549
01:34:33,840 --> 01:34:39,137
is about fighting for the right
to participate in democracy.
1550
01:34:39,179 --> 01:34:40,972
-The struggle has many parts.
1551
01:34:41,014 --> 01:34:43,641
-Hands up! Don't shoot!
Hands up!
1552
01:34:43,683 --> 01:34:47,479
-It is a struggle which requires
a use of direct action.
1553
01:34:47,520 --> 01:34:49,898
-Don't shoot!
Hands up! Don't shoot!
1554
01:34:49,939 --> 01:34:52,025
-Each generation has to
make its own dent
1555
01:34:52,067 --> 01:34:54,611
in the wall of injustice.
1556
01:34:54,652 --> 01:35:00,075
-Rosa Parks
never gave up that torch.
1557
01:35:00,116 --> 01:35:04,662
She lit the torch
to the next generation.
1558
01:35:04,704 --> 01:35:09,084
-We will continue to show
our strength in numbers.
1559
01:35:12,003 --> 01:35:14,172
-When you think back on it,
if you had to do it
1560
01:35:14,214 --> 01:35:17,342
all over again, would you do it?
1561
01:35:17,384 --> 01:35:18,760
-Yes, I would.
1562
01:35:23,973 --> 01:35:26,976
As far as I can remember
during my lifetime,
1563
01:35:27,018 --> 01:35:30,605
I resisted the idea
of being mistreated
1564
01:35:30,647 --> 01:35:33,233
and pushed around
because of my race.
1565
01:35:33,274 --> 01:35:36,194
And I felt that all people
should be free
1566
01:35:36,236 --> 01:35:38,279
regardless of their color.
1567
01:35:38,321 --> 01:35:42,867
And when the driver demanded
that we give up this seat,
1568
01:35:42,909 --> 01:35:46,871
I felt that the time had come
to not take it anymore.
1569
01:35:46,913 --> 01:35:50,125
I had had enough,
and this was truly the end
1570
01:35:50,166 --> 01:35:51,376
of being pushed around.
1571
01:35:51,418 --> 01:35:52,836
-Yeah
1572
01:35:52,877 --> 01:35:54,671
-Please, Lord,won't you bind my hands
1573
01:35:54,713 --> 01:35:57,841
'Cause I don't wannahurt nobody
1574
01:35:57,882 --> 01:36:00,093
Oh, Lord, won't youguide my soul
1575
01:36:00,135 --> 01:36:03,054
'Cause I don't wannaact ungodly
1576
01:36:03,096 --> 01:36:05,557
Oh, Lord,won't you help my soul?
1577
01:36:05,598 --> 01:36:08,268
These heathenswant to steal my faith
1578
01:36:08,309 --> 01:36:11,062
I really needsome self-control
1579
01:36:11,104 --> 01:36:14,232
I'm tryingnot to fall from grace
1580
01:36:14,274 --> 01:36:16,776
Lord, pleasewon't you help my soul
1581
01:36:16,818 --> 01:36:18,570
Come strengthen my faith
1582
01:36:18,611 --> 01:36:20,739
Strengthen my faith
1583
01:36:24,492 --> 01:36:25,952
-Yeah
1584
01:36:29,998 --> 01:36:31,666
Yeah
127859
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