We Shall Not Be Moved: Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Writing Art Life
Dr. Elizabeth Woodworth
English 1017
5 December 2011
We Shall Not Be Moved: Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks, an important figure from the Civil Rights movement and viewed by millions as the “mother of the Civil Rights movement” (Boyd 42), was an Alabama native whose refusal to surrender her bus seat to a white man in 1955 added velocity to the movement and likely changed the history of the United States. Since the 1880s, segregational Jim Crow laws required African-Americans to sit at the back of the bus and to always relinquish their seat to a white person, among other things:
“Jim Crow laws… legalized segregation between blacks and whites… Railways and streetcars, public waiting rooms, restaurants, boardinghouses, theaters, and public parks were segregated; separate schools, hospitals, and other public institutions, generally of inferior quality, were designated for blacks” (Columbia University Press 1).
She was subsequently arrested for this audacious act, and sympathizers organized the Montgomery Bus Boycott to protest the injustice of segregation. In a time when African-Americans were often killed for fighting back against the oppression, these activists had the bravery to stand for what they knew was right. “After the arrest of Rosa Parks, black people of Montgomery and sympathizers of other races organized and promoted a boycott of the city bus line that lasted 381 days. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was appointed the spokesperson” (“Rosa Louise Parks Biography, n.d.) Other cities followed Montgomery’s example and had bus boycotts of their own, as well as other forms of protests such as sit-ins in which they would sit at white-only lunch counters and remain seated until they were served or arrested (the latter occurred in most cases, unfortunately). “‘African Americans in other cities, like Birmingham, Alabama and Tallahassee, Florida, started their own boycotts of the segregated buses,’ Parks recalled. ‘The direct action civil rights movement had begun’” (Boyd 43). The boycott finally ended in in November of 1956 when the Supreme Court ruled that segregated buses were unconstitutional, and when the written order arrived on December 20th, 1956, the boycotters reveled in their triumph.
The first song I have chosen for this playlist is “Soldier of Love” by Sade. Although it has no direct connotations with Rosa Parks’ life, it is a song about survival and conquering a struggle. Here are the lyrics:
I’ve lost the use of my heart, but I’m still alive
Still looking for the light and the endless pool on the other side
It’s the wild wild west, I’m doing my best
I’m at the borderline of my faith, I’m at the hinterland of my devotion
I’m in the front line of this battle of mine, but I’m still alive
I’m a soldier of love every day and night
I’m a soldier of love all the days of my life
I’ve been torn up inside, I’ve been left behind
Tall I ride, I have the will to survive
In the wild, wild west, trying my hardest, doing my best
To stay alive; I am love’s soldier
I wait for the sound
I know that love will come, turn it all around
I am lost but I don’t doubt
Tall I ride (“Soldier of Love” 2010)
I love the line “Tall I ride/I have the will to survive.” It is encouraging and confident, not to mention the word “ride” having relevance to Rosa Parks riding the bus. She was no longer riding the bus after she was thrown off and boycotted, but she “rode” on by standing next to her decision and continuing in the fight for equality. She was indeed a “soldier of love”; not romantic love, but the general, respectful love that we should all have toward our fellow humans. This “love” did not exist in the law prior to the Civil Rights movement, but she was one of many who knew that it belonged there.
The next song I chose is “Something Inside So Strong” by Labi Siffre. Here are the lyrics:
The higher you build your barriers, the taller I become
The farther you take my rights away, the faster I will run
You can deny me; you can decide to turn your face away
No matter, ‘cause there’s something inside so strong
I know that I can make it, though you’re doing me wrong, so wrong
You thought that my pride was gone, oh no, something inside so strong
The more you refuse to hear my voice, the louder I will sing
You hide behind walls of Jericho; your lies will come tumbling
Deny my place in time; you squander wealth that’s mine
My light will shine so brightly; it will blind you
Brothers and sisters, when they insist we’re just not good enough
When we know better; just look ‘em in the eyes and say I’m gonna do it anyway
Something inside so strong, and I know that I can make it
Though you’re doing me wrong, so wrong
You thought that my pride was gone
Brothers and sisters, when they insist we’re just good not enough when we know better, just look ‘em in the eyes and say
I’m gonna do it anyway (“Something Inside So Strong” 1988)
In my opinion this song is highly relatable to Rosa Parks’ bus incident and the Civil Rights movement because it is about using your inner strength to rebel against what you know is wrong. Rosa Parks knew that she would suffer negative repercussions for ignoring the law by not giving up her seat to the white man, but it was more important to stand by her belief that she should no longer have to submit to segregation. “‘People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired,’ Parks wrote… ‘But that isn’t true. I wasn’t tired physically… I was tired of giving in’” (Boyd 42). The first two lines especially speak to me because the more the law tried to hold back the protestors, the harder they fought, and the Bus Boycott ended victoriously.
The song “Strength, Courage, and Wisdom” by India.Arie is another song that reminds me of Rosa Parks. It is about finding happiness after being true to yourself regardless of being insecure or afraid of judgment. Rosa Parks had a lot of courage to do what she did, and had the strength to maintain her decision instead of backing down in cowardice. Upon receiving the threat of arrest, she could have easily changed her mind and given up her seat. She chose to not let this fear pressure her into doing the wrong thing, and as a result made history.
Inside my head there lives a dream that I want to see in the sun
Behind my eyes there lives a me that I’ve been hiding for much too long
‘Cause I’ve been too afraid to let it show
‘Cause I’m scared of the judgment that may follow
Always putting off my living for tomorrow
It’s time to step out on faith, I’ve gotta show my faith
It’s been allusive for so long, but freedom is mine today
I’ve gotta step out on faith, it’s time to show my faith
Procrastination had me down but look what I have found, I found
Strength, courage, and wisdom, and it’s been inside of me all along
Strength, courage, and wisdom inside of me
Behind my pride there lives a me that knows humility
Inside my voice there is a soul, and in my soul there is a voice
But I’ve been, too afraid to make a choice ‘cause I’m scared of the things that I might be missing
Running too fast to stop and listen (“Strength, Courage, and Wisdom” 2001)
“Sister Rosa” by the Neville Brothers is an essential song to have on this playlist because it is one of the most popular songs that actually tells her story. In this song they thank her for her bravery, although it is arguable that she was “the spark that started” the Civil Rights movement (nonetheless, her bus incident was a very important moment for the movement). I find it interesting that this song came out in the late 1980s, because it took decades for a music artist to create a song to commemorate her. It makes me wonder if she was seen as a hero to the same degree back then that she is seen now.
December 1, 1955, our freedom movement came alive, and because of sister Rosa you know, we don’t ride on the back of the bus no more
Sister Rosa Parks was tired one day after a hard day on her job
When all she wanted was a well-deserved rest, not a scene from an angry mob.
A bus driver said, “Lady, you got to get up ‘cause a white person wants that seat.”
But Miss Rosa said, “No, not no more. I’m gonna sit here and rest my feet.”
Thank you Miss Rosa, you are the spark; you started our freedom movement
Thank you sister Rosa Parks
Thank you Miss Rosa you are the spark; you started our freedom movement
Thank you Sister Rosa Parks
Now, the police came without fail and took sister Rosa off to jail.
And 14 dollars was her fine; brother Martin Luther King knew it was our time
The people of Montgomery sit down to talk; it was decided all God’s children should walk until segregation was brought to its knees
And we obtain freedom and equality, yeah
So we dedicate this song to thee for being the symbol of our dignity
Thank sister Rosa Parks (“Sister Rosa” 1989)
On December 5th, 1955, four days after Rosa Parks’ arrest, Dr. Martin Luther King arranged a mass meeting to organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott. He struggled to plan his speech for that night: “…King recalls… his task seemed almost overwhelming. ‘How could I make a speech that would be militant enough to keep my people aroused to positive action and yet moderate enough to keep this fervor within controllable and Christian bounds?’” (Wilson 316). Luckily, the African-American community had a way to unite fiercely and “militantly,” while remaining peaceful: through song. The first hymn that they sang that night, “Onward Christian Soldiers,” helped inspire them to fight their battle while remaining nonviolent and pacific. This was an appropriate song, as its lyrics speak of combat, but it was not a war song; rather, it was intended to be a children’s song:
“Consider the first hymn sung by the audience that evening. ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’ was written during the period of the American Civil War, but it was never intended as a militaristic anthem for physical combat. Its author, Sabine Barring-Gould, lived in England and wrote the hymn for a children’s processional” (Wilson 317).
Here are the lyrics:
Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war
With the cross of Jesus going on before
Christ the Royal Master, leads against the foe;
Forward into battle see His banners go!
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before
At the sign of triumph Satan’s host doth flee;
On then, Christian soldiers, on to victory!
Hell’s foundations quiver at the shout of praise;
Brothers lift your voices, loud your anthems raise (Wilson 317)
I placed this song here not because of its message applying to Rosa Parks, but because it has historic relevance to her bus happening.
After the activists sang “Onward Christian Soldiers” at the December 5th mass meeting, they sang another hymn popular in churches at the time: “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.”
What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms
Leaning, Leaning, safe and secure from all alarms
Leaning, Leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms
What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms (Wilson 318)
This song was the perfect counterpart to “Onward Christian Soldiers” because it expresses that if you have faith in God you can achieve peace, so it captures the two vital characteristics of the Civil Rights protestors. These activists were renowned for their nonviolent demonstrations, but they still made it known that they were serious and steadfast in their determination. These two songs have a balance of vehemence and complacency that convey the essence of Civil Rights activists. As I discussed in “A Revolution in Song,” music helped inspire and give strength to protestors, so it is not a stretch to say that “Onward Christian Soldiers” and “Leaning on Everlasting Arms” boosted the morale of the Montgomery Bus Boycott that Rosa Parks helped start.
One of my favorite songs on this playlist is “Pressing On” by Bob Dylan. It is such a motivational song, especially during testing times. What would have happened if Rosa Parks had not kept “pressing on”? Where would we be today? I find it surprising that this song was not written during the Civil Rights movement, because its message is so applicable. Civil Rights activists were mostly religious and undoubtedly felt that they were fighting for a “higher calling.”
Well I’m pressing on
Yes, I’m pressing on
Well I’m pressing on
To the higher calling of my lord
Many try to stop me, shake me up in my mind
Say, “Prove to me that He is Lord, show me a sign”
What kind of sign they need when it all comes from within
When what’s lost has been found, what’s to come has already been?
Shake the dust off of your feet, don’t look back
Nothing can hold you down, nothing that you lack
Temptation’s not an easy thing, Adam given the devil reign
Because he sinned I got no choice, it run in my veins
The last song I have chosen for this playlist is “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a hymn that was originally a poem by James Weldon Johnson and later set to music by John Rosamond Johnson.
Lift every voice and sing, till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of liberty; let our rejoicing rise
High as the listening skies; let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;
facing the rising sun of our new day begun; let us march on till victory is won
Stony the road we trod, bitter the chastening rod,
felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
yet with a steady beat, have not our weary feet come to the place
for which our fathers died?
We have come over a way that with tears have been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
out from the gloomy past, till now we stand at last where the white gleam
of our bright star is cast
God of our weary years; God of our silent tears, thou who hast brought us thus far on the way; thou who hast by thy might led us into the light,
keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee;
lest our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee,
shadowed beneath thy hand, may we forever stand, true to our God, true to our native land (“Lift Every Voice and Sing Lyrics,” n.d.)
This song was another important piece that was actually sung during the Bus Boycott mass meetings. Although it lacks direct symbolism towards Rosa Parks, its overall tone of celebration and jubilance applies to how they must have felt when they found out that the Supreme Court had ruled in their favor. “… Dorothy Posey Jones described how ‘Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,’ known as the black national hymn, strengthened and comforted those involved in the Montgomery Bus Boycott” (“Dorothy Posey Jones 2005). This song was very likely written in response to the abolishment of slavery in the late 1800s because according to the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, James Weldon Johnson was an African-American who lived from 1871 to 1938. I find it ironic that this song expresses such happiness when African-Americans were hardly a step above slaves with very little rights when it was written. I believe they were made to believe for so long that they were inferior to white people that they had no sense of entitlement and therefore were not very worried about their limited rights upon the abolishment of slavery. It took approximately five more decades for them to get the courage to fight for more of what they deserved.
Rosa Parks will unquestionably be recognized for her simple yet courageous act in many years to come. Her refusal to give her bus seat to a white man on that fateful day in 1955 sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which influenced other cities to do the same thing. Other protests took form following the boycott and altogether these things made up the Civil Rights Movement. Without her bravery, what would the United States be like today? Luckily, we do not have to know.
Johnnie Carr and Rosa Parks on a bus boycott reenactment in Montgomery, Alabama
This is a photo of Rosa Parks reenacting the bus boycott. I find this picture so interesting because of her expression. She looks proud, but also humble. I imagine she was reflecting on how far she and the rest of the United States had come since the day she refused to give up her seat in 1955. I wonder if she knew how glorious that simple protest would become.
Lone Negro Waits at Bus Stop
This picture was taken December 6th, 1955, the day after the Montgomery bus boycott began. Without prior knowledge, this photo would seem uninteresting beyond how old it looks. But the fact that it was taken during the boycott makes its meaning explode from the screen. Who was this one woman, and why wasn’t she involved in the boycott as well? Maybe she did not know about it, or perhaps she had no choice but to ride the bus. Look at the benches at this bus stop. Obviously more people rode the bus back then, because today’s bus stops in Montgomery have only one bench. This photo shows the size of the boycott and makes it easier to understand its impact.
Works Cited
Adu, Sade. “Soldier of Love.” Soldier of Love. Epic, 2010. CD.
Alabama Dept. of Archives and History. Johnnie Carr and Rosa Parks on a bus boycott reenactment in Montgomery, Alabama. 1986. Alabama Dept. of Archives and History, Montgomery. ADAH Digital Archives. Web. 1 Dec 2011.
Alabama Dept. of Archives and History. Lone Negro Waits at Bus Stop. 6 Dec. 1955. Alabama Dept. of Archives and History, Montgomery. ADAH Digital Archives. Web. 1 Dec 2011.
Arie, India. “Strength, Courage, and Wisdom.” Acoustic Soul. Motown, 2001. CD.
Berkhalter, Denise L. “Just Cause.” Crisis 112.6 (2005): 32-5. Academic Search Premier. Database. 1 Dec 2011.
Boyd, Herb. “In Memorium: Rosa Parks.” Black Scholar 35.4 (2006): 42-4. Academic Search Premier. Database. 1 Dec 2011.
Columbia University Press. “Jim Crow Laws.” Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition (2011): 1. History Reference Center. Web. 3 Dec. 2011.
Dylan, Bob. “Pressing On.” Saved. Columbia, 1980. CD.
“James Weldon Johnson.” Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition (2011): 1. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Dec. 2011.
“Lift Every Voice and Sing Lyrics – James Weldon Johnson.” Gospel Music Lyrics. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. <http://www.music-lyrics-gospel.com/gospel_music_lyrics/life_every_voice_and_sing_3704.asp>.
Litchfield, Robyn B. “Dorothy Posey Jones.” Montgomery Bus Boycott: The Story of Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights Movement. Montgomery Advertiser, 7 June 2005. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. <http://www.montgomeryboycott.com/profile_djones.htm>.
Neville Brothers. “Sister Rosa.” Yellow Moon. A&M, 1989. CD.
“Rosa Louise Parks Biography.” Rosa Parks.org. Rosa & Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development. Web. 1 Dec. 2011.
Siffre, Labi. “Something Inside So Strong.” So Strong. Atlantic, 1988. CD.
Wilson, Kurt H. “Interpreting the Discursive Field of the Montgomery Bus Boycott: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Holt Street Address.” Rhetoric & Public Affairs 8.2 (2005): 299-326. Project MUSE. Database. 1 Dec 2011.
