Doing what’s right isn’t always defined by societal standards, especially not for Blacks in America. Societal standards, since our forced arrival on this stolen land, has always been that our existence is wrong. We’ve been climbing the ladder of humanity in different ways throughout American history. First battling to prove that ur existence is not solely for the profit of others. Second to prove that our existence is equal to others. And now we fight to prove that our lives are just as valuable as others. What will the next battle be? Because of these constant battles that we are forced to face, in many cases as a result of our willingness to continue to fight we are demonized and criminalized by this society. Many of our most influential leaders who’ve refused to stand down to inequality and injustice, from Black Panther Parter members, like Assata Shakur and ministers, like Martin Luther King, have been demonized and criminalized, arrested, jailed and imprisoned as a result of the work they’ve done for our community. In looking at how these people we celebrate today as civil rights icons, we must understand that being arrested, going to jail, or being punished by the law in any way isn’t the definition of failure. Being a criminal in the eyes of a law that doesn’t serve you, or even works to oppress you, is more of an act of martyrdom. In many cases, the sacrifice of being imprison, is a sign of rebellion that we can see as far back is biblical times when Joseph and Daniel were unjustly imprisoned. God has been with them all from Assata Shakur to Joseph from the Bible, those who are unjustly persecuted are protected.
Today, February 4th marks Rosa Parks Birthday. Similarly to the Woolworth Sit-In boys, Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat in a white’s only bus area of the bus December 1, 1955. Her actions led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott where people refused to pay into bus fare that enforced racial segregation. We were, and continue to in many ways, fund our own oppression. Similarly to how in the 1960s we paid for food at restaurants and for buses that forced us to sit designated areas or stand to be served, today we out our money in banks, like Bank of America or Wells Fargo, that fund the private prison industry, today’s modern slave system. Through the Montgomery Bus Boycott Blacks were able to see the power we have in determining how public policy is enforced and executed. Today many of us, including myself, are participating in the Injustice Boycott, inspired by our ancestors work in the Bus Boycott. So far through our unity as a part of boycotting we’ve been able to make significant progress politically. Recently the actions of the Injustice Boycott resulted in Seattle’s divesting from Wells Fargo to look for a socially responsible banking solution for the city.
Parks wasn’t the first to resist racial segregation, although she was selected as the face of the civil rights movement, we cannot forget the actions of resistance taken by those before her. On March 2, 1955 at the young age of 15 Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat on the segregated buses of Montgomery Alabama. Colvin was also arrested, but her story was not used as apart of the movement because she was a teenager that was impregnated by a married man. Imagine what progress could have been made for our community if we would’ve started boycotting, nine months earlier? P
arks may not have even had to be prosecuted. Leaders refusal to publicize Colvin’s story was due to the fact that she was a pregnant teen who was “feisty”, “mouthy”, and “emotional”, and because of this her activism was ignored. Nine months later when Rosa Parks was arrested for the same action of activism, her story was used because she was viewed as being calm, well-mannered, and studious. We must recognize the fact that the actions of women who apart of the movement were overseen, tracked and selected by male leaders based upon the attitude of the women and their perceived likelihood of being accepted. This is something we continue to struggle with today, Black male patriarchy, that labels Black women as being too loud or bossy and therefore unacceptable. We must break down these barriers in order to move forward.
Nonviolent Activism has continued to be an important part of the civil rights movement and we must continue to use this strategy in our ongoing fight for equity. We should use this time in order to reflect on all of the activists who risked their lives to enrich all of our futures. Let’s not ever be selective about the ‘type’ of activist we want to put at the forefront. There may have been many women who could have benefited from hearing the story of young Claudette Colvin, there may have been many women who could have related to her, her young pregnancy, her perceived ‘mouthiness’. In addition to this, threading together all of those women in segregated Montgomery who refused to give up their seats prior to the Bus Boycott would have strengthen the movement as a whole. We all come from different backgrounds and stories, and this why our activism is even more powerful.
