2A
NEWS/IIte Clariotte 3Pot
Thursday, November 3, 2005
ROSA PARKS 1913-2005
Nation bids farewell to unassuming hero
Continued from page 1A
walkers, in strollers cw cra
dled in arms, it was the sig
nificance of her life that drew
people to say a final goodbye,
‘*Her legacy wUl move on
throughout generations,” says
LeAnna Pointer, 17, an alum
nus of th^ Pathway to
Freedom Pru^am under the
Rosa and Raymond Parks
Institute for Self
Development in Mon^mery
“What I can do to contribute
to that legacy is get good
grades and write a book about
this part of my life.”
Joma Gilbert, 29, drove to
D.C. fiom Baltimore because
lie said it was important to
rea^nize why he is now so
free to excel. “I felt it was my
responsibility to represent my
generation in showing respect
to Ml’S. Paries and those who
have gone before her.”
Youth was a passion for
Paries, who died on Oct. 24 at
the age of 92.
Marian Wright Edelman.
president and founder of the
Children’s Defense Fund,
lirought her 4-year-old grand
daughter to the U. S. Capitol
to conmiemorate her legacy “I
want her to always remember
what one Black woman did to
change the nation and change
the world and one person and
one woman can make an
enormous diffeience. I mean,
who could ever dream such a
thing.
Throngs passed by the cas
ket in Montgomery and in
Washington D. C to see her
dressed in her beloved White
deaconess uniform of St.
Paul’s. The black and white
bonnet was tied in a fluffy
bow at the side of her neck.
Her braided hair covered her
ears. Her hands were covered
with white lace, decorated
with tiny pearls and dia
monds.
“Her hair was so long, she
could ait CHI it,” says Monica
Morgein, who served as Parks’
personal photographer for
neariy 15 years, ‘’The most
phenomenal thing about her
was that she was the same
behind the scenes as she was
in front of the camera —
always kind, gentle, positive
and humble.”
Moi^an says her most
memorable moment was
when Parks autographed
“Quiet Strength," her autobi-
c^raphy, and wrote, “Tb a dear
fiiend and a great photogra
pher’ Being a dear fiiend
meant more than anything in
the world," Morgan says.
Many were struck by her
radiance and strength.
“I gasped,” says actress
Cicely Tyson in an interview
with the NNPA News Service.
‘T gasped because what I saw
buried in her face was the
same thing that made me
realize, ‘This is what that
woman had that allowed ha*
to sit in that seat and not
move. Ev«i in death, she had
it. I tell you, it was so startling
to me, I will never ever get
over that first moment,”
Civil rights icon Joseph
Lowery agreed, “Only God
could take a whisper of such a
gentle woman and turn it into
a global revolution.”
Those who knew her and
those who didn’t expressed
similar sentiments.
“This is a moment, I think,
for all of us who knew Rosa
Parks and loved her, for all of
her fiiends and her family,”
says U.S. Sen. Tfed Kennedy
(D-Mass.). “But it’s also an
enormously important
moment for the whole move
ment that has struggled to
knock down the walls of big
otry and hatred in our soci
ety”
U.S. Rep. Carolyn
Kilpatrick (^D-Micli.) said the
death of Paiks causes her to
recommit to her work for jus
tice.
“It reminds me of how
important it is that we contin
ue Mrs. Park’s woik, being
self-respecting of one another,
building strong families, tak
ing care of God’s children,
showing carriage and speak
ing out against iiyustices,
building a just society so chil
dren will have an opportunity
That’s what she dedicated her
life to,” Kilpatrick said.
Wade Henderson, executive
director of the Leadership
Conference on Civil Rights,
says Parks’ legacy goes
beyond America, but to “world
events.”
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