Miss Rosa

Tonight, Rosa Parks lies in state in the Rotunda, becoming the first woman, first non-government official, and second African-American to lie there. These are the moments where I’m so proud of my elected officials, so proud of my nation and so proud of where America is going. Washington—and the nation—is paying tribute to a little old lady from Alabama.

But she was more than a little old lady, because she had more courage than most of us. One woman sitting firmly in her seat, lead to a bus boycott, which lead to national exposure for Martin Luther King, Jr., which lead to sit-ins, Civil Rights/Voting Acts, de-segregation, the end of Jim Crow, and so on. It’s not overly dramatic to say that without her, I would not be where I am; nor would Oprah, Al Roker, Barack Obama, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Clarence Thomas, and yes, even Nelson Mandela.

Without this little old lady, America wouldn’t be the same. Perhaps the Civil Rights Movement would have started a little later; maybe it would have never started at all. Maybe Jim Crow would be alive and kicking in 2005. But for whatever reason, God saw fit that Rosa Parks—and her refusal to move from her seat— should be the catalyst for the American Civil Rights Movement. Thank God for her courage, her resolve, her gumption, her intolerance of intolerance. Thank God for her.



Thank you Miss Rosa.