"Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others." —Rosa Parks, activist
Keeping with the reason Dr. Woodson chose February for this celebration, we will focus on activists who led the fight against slavery and for equal rights. Four such prominent leaders are Frederick Douglas, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr.
A former slave, Frederick Douglas bought his freedom with the money from a book he had published. He became an avid and vocal supporter of the Civil War and was appointed the Marshall of the District of Columbia. Later, Douglas became the U.S. Consul General to Haiti.
Harriet Tubman, a slave, ran away when she was 24 by way of the Underground Railroad. She escaped to Pennsylvania, but returned to lead both her own family and an additional 300 slaves to freedom.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led the Montgomery Bus Boycott after the arrest of Rosa Parks. Using the practice of nonviolent protest he learned from Mahatma Gandhi, he began a black movement to obliterate racial segregation. Dr. King's life ended tragically when he was assassinated in 1968, but his message lived on.
On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks sparked a 381-day bus boycott in Montgomery Alabama, after being arrested for not giving up her seat on a bus. A Supreme Court ruling against segregation on November 13, 1956 brought about the end of the boycott. Although segregation was no longer legal, it was still practiced and Ms. Parks continued her fight against inequality for the rest of her life. She passed away on October 25, 2005 at the age of 92.
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