Feb. 4 marks the 90th birthday of Rosa Parks, the woman lovingly known as the mother of the civil-rights movement. It wasn't booming oratory or a fiery personality that earned Parks that affectionate title. She simply, and defiantly, refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a white rider in Montgomery, Ala., in 1955. By so doing, she agreed to become the focus of one of the first major legal challenges to Southern segregation laws.
Parks' arrest led to the formation of the Montgomery Improvement Association, which in turn kicked off the famed Montgomery Bus Boycott and launched the political career of the group's dynamic and newly elected leader, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
In 1955, segregation was the law of the land in the South. While two-thirds of bus riders in Montgomery were African American, it was standard practice to force blacks to give up their seats for white riders or face arrest. Blacks were also made to pay their fares to the driver up front and then re-board through the back door.
In her book "Quiet Strength," Parks wrote, "I didn't want to pay my fare and then go around the back door, because many times, even if you did that, you might not get on the bus at all. They'd probably shut the door, drive off and leave you standing there."
Parks, who was serving as secretary to the local NAACP at the time, was not the first to be arrested for refusing to be treated as a second-class citizen in Montgomery. Two other young women, Claudette Colvin and Mary Louise Smith, had faced a similar fate earlier that year. But it was Rosa Parks' character that ultimately brought her into the spotlight of the civil-rights movement. "My God! Look what segregation has put in my hands," local black leader E.D. Nixon is said to have exclaimed after hearing of Parks' arrest.
As Rita Dove, former poet laureate, wrote in a Time magazine tribute, Parks "was not only above moral reproach (securely married, reasonably employed) but possessed a quiet fortitude as well as political savvy -- in short, she was the ideal plaintiff for a test case."
The bus boycott was an overwhelming success, and the legal case brought on behalf of Parks was won the following year when Montgomery's public transportation system was officially integrated.
Thanks to the efforts of Parks, Dr. King and countless foot soldiers in the struggle, the tide was slowly beginning to turn in favor of those fighting for equal rights. Rosa Parks had no intention of getting arrested that day. Contrary to myth, it wasn't that her feet hurt or she was any more tired from her seamstress job than any other day. But in that moment, when the driver told her to stand up and move or be arrested, she realized that she had had enough.
"Our mistreatment was just not right, and I was tired of it," she said in response to students' questions about her role in the civil-rights struggle. Two years after her arrest, Rosa Parks moved north to Detroit to escape the death threats and harassment she was experiencing in the South.
She remained dedicated to civil rights and formed the Rosa Parks Institute in 1987 to continue her work, specifically focusing on young people. (Shockingly, Parks was beaten and robbed in her Detroit home in 1994 by a black youth who was unaware of Parks' identity or history.)
What is troubling is that some people today view Parks' courageous actions as insignificant. In the film "Barbershop," the character Eddie (played by Cedric the Entertainer) says, "Rosa Parks ain't did nothin' but sit her black ass down." The words created a storm of controversy and angered many black leaders as well as members of Parks' family. Perhaps, however, the real concern should be our collective lack of appreciation for the strength, courage and actions of women like Rosa Parks and all of the lesser known fighters of the civil-rights movement. Without them, Cedric the Entertainer and all the rest of us could still be riding in the back of the bus.
Andrea Lewis is a San Francisco-based writer and co-host of the "Morning Show" on KPFA Radio in Berkeley, Calif.