The Back of the Bus: Why Rosa Parks Refused to Get Up

If you have read my two previous articles on Rosa Parks, you might wonder why this is my third article in a row on the subject of the Montgomery Alabama bus boycott. I guess you can call it an obsession. You see I was born in a time and place where such things were unthinkable. Growing up in a New York suburb in the 1970's and 1980's, I never, ever experienced such indignations. Sure, there was occasional comment or rudeness that made me stop and wonder if someone had a problem with my skin color, but outright racism was not a reality for me.

It was not until my later years, in college that I began to learn a lot more about the history of my people and the struggles they endured to make my childhood so much more pleasant than they had been. It was also not until I grew up and left my parent's home that I began to see that things were not always as wonderful as they seem. If you look at my member page, you will see that I spent the better part of Black History Month sharing as many of these stories as possible. As you can see, I find the story of this one woman and her bus ride on one fateful day truly fascinating. If I could go back in time and be a fly on the wall during this incident I would. This particular essay focuses on that one short bus ride.

To understand why Rosa Parks would not move, you must also understand how bus segregation worked. In Montgomery Alabama, at the time, buses were laid out with the three seats facing each other on each side, then five rows of seat facing forward. Then there were two more sets of seat facing each other and a five seat back bench, very much like today's public buses. Front seats and the first forward facing row was reserved for white passengers at which point a moveable sign was placed that could be moved back if more white people boarded the bus and needed seats. Black passengers typically stepped into the front of the bus to pay their fare, then stepped off the bus and went in the back door to sit behind the sign.