|
|
Congressman
Elijah E. Cummings |
 |
|
|
Congressman
Elijah E. Cummings |
|
(10/29/05 Baltimore AFRO-American Newspaper)
Taking ownership of Rosa Parks' legacy
by Congressman Elijah E. Cummings
When Ms. Rosa Parks died last Monday at the age of 92, she left America an inspiring legacy – a vision that can transform this country if we have the wisdom and courage to grasp it as our own.
December 1 will mark the 50th anniversary of that bus ride in Montgomery when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man, as then required by law.
"I felt that I had a right to be treated as any other passenger," Ms. Parks recalled in 1992. "We had endured that kind of treatment too long."
Rosa Parks was jailed and fined for defying the Jim Crow laws of the time – a principled act of human dignity and determination that eventually would carry her far beyond Montgomery, Alabama.
There are some who argue that the civil rights movement was historically inevitable. They conclude that Rosa Parks' arrest was simply a spark that ignited the fire.
I find it hard to accept this theory.
Without Rosa Parks' act of principle, there would have been no Montgomery bus boycott in 1955. A minister named the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., would not have been thrust upon the national stage.
One woman made a difference in American history. It is important that we all remember this fact during the difficult and dangerous times that we now must face and overcome.
President Clinton affirmed the truth of this proposition when he presented Rosa Parks with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996. The Congress concurred in 1999, when I was proud to join my colleagues in awarding her the Congressional Gold Medal – America's highest civilian honor.
Virtually no one today disputes that these honors were well-deserved. Yet, a desire for public acclaim was not the foremost objective in Rosa Parks' mind.
"I am leaving this legacy to all of you," she declared during a 1988 celebration in her honor, ". . . to bring peace, justice, equality, love and a fulfillment of what our lives should be."
"Without vision, the people will perish," she continued, quoting Scripture, "and without courage and inspiration, dreams will die - the dreams of freedom and peace."
Rosa Parks was pleading with us to stand up for what is right when we are faced with the challenges to our shared humanity that, all too often, confront us in our daily lives.
The implications of Rosa Parks' prophetic declaration are clear.
Those who view the struggle for civil rights only in the past tense are blind.
We are the guardians of Rosa Parks' legacy. If we are to become and remain an empowered people – if we are to continue the movement toward full civil rights – we must continue to fight for access to the classroom, the board room and the ballot box.
To win these struggles, it is readily apparent that we first must gain (and share with each other) the knowledge that is so critical to our survival and success in this society.
Consider the findings of the National Urban League's "State of Black America for 2005," the annual report that so graphically contrasts the health, education and general welfare of African Americans in relationship to the majority Caucasian population of this country.
Fifty years after Rosa Parks boarded that Montgomery bus, we still are twice as likely to die before our time – reflecting, among other important factors, the unequal treatment that we receive from this nation's so-called "system" of health care.
Black unemployment rates remains twice those of Whites. Our average net worth is ten times less, and our rate of home ownership (a critical component of wealth creation in this country) lags far behind.
Inexperienced teachers are twice as likely to be teaching our children in minority schools.
We need not belabor the connection between these harsh facts of everyday life for Americans of color and the reality that our voting rights continue to be disproportionately attacked and denied.
For any nation that proclaims "liberty and justice for all," there is something fundamentally wrong with these pictures.
To overcome the civil rights challenges of our time, we must develop and communicate workable, fact-based strategies. That is why the Washington-based Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) is taking its expertise about the sources of our empowerment on the road to cities across the country.
I welcomed the opportunity to join the CBCF, the Urban League and the NAACP in cosponsoring this year's "Collective Power Tour: Building Unity, Health, and Wealth" a series of important seminars on October 28 and 29 at the University of Baltimore's Langsdale Auditorium, 1420 Maryland Avenue.
On Friday, national experts are sharing their knowledge about critical subjects: "Securing our Financial Future," "Black Children and the U.S. Public Education System," and "Race, Class, Katrina &the Vote." Saturday's sessions are devoted to "Tools for Healthy Living."
The CBCF's Collective Power Tour can be another important step toward our taking full ownership of Rosa Parks' legacy.
If we are to advance her vision of justice, equality and opportunity, we must share the information – as well as the inspiration – that we need to succeed and survive.
-The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings represents the 7th Congressional District of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives.
