Schoolchildren Get Front-Row Look at Rights Activist Legend

More than 1,200 students from throughout San Diego County gathered Wednesday to pay tribute to Rosa Parks, the woman whose refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus in 1955 sparked the civil rights movement.

“I hope to continue as long as I possibly can to be concerned and committed and dedicated to young people and their well-being, their training and their commitment . . . to make life great for themselves and society,” Parks said. “And to help others . . . to be unified, committed and dedicated to carrying on the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”

Though Parks’ words were few, her presence appeared to move the hundreds of students who packed the cement bleachers of Mesa College Stadium to hear her speak.

“She’s my idol, and she’s the real reason I like to sit in the front of the bus,” said Doranita Jackson, a 13-year-old who attends Memorial Junior High-Middle School in San Diego. “Because of her, I can sit in the front of the bus instead of the back. Nobody’s going to tell me to move.”

Parks, who celebrated her 79th birthday Tuesday, called on the youths to unite and move in the direction of peace, prosperity and good will.

“You do need to be concerned about registering to vote, and studying the issues and also the candidates, in order to elect those people into office who will have the concerns of we the people,” Parks said.

The students, most of them black grade-schoolers, with a scattering of other ethnic groups, were selected by their schools to attend the event. The schools that could send students were chosen by San Diego city and county school district officials and leaders in the black community. In addition, several private schools made requests to attend the event.

Cyril Neville, of the music group the Neville Brothers, and his family were among nearly a dozen groups, including the UC San Diego Gospel Choir and the Mesa College Choir, who performed songs such as “Thank You, Sister Rosa” and “We Shall Overcome.”

“Anybody can do what Mrs. Parks did. You don’t have to have a cape and super powers to be a hero,” Neville said after the 90-minute event. “Anybody can be a hero.”

He recalled that he was 7 when Parks caught the nation’s attention by refusing to sit in the back of the bus, and said her quiet dignity spurred him to persevere through the tough times in his life.

After refusing to give up her seat, Parks was arrested, booked, fingerprinted, jailed and fined. Her act sparked her pastor, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to begin the civil rights movement and brought him into the national spotlight.

Parks’ act also spurred a yearlong boycott of Montgomery’s buses by blacks, who made up 70% of the riders. The boycott ended after the U.S. Supreme Court held that laws requiring segregated bus seating were unconstitutional.

Parks’ appearance in San Diego was made possible by Liz Hamilton, a Mesa College music instructor who took out a $10,000 loan to bring Parks to town.

“The spirit that Mrs. Parks represents is in every one of us,” Hamilton said before the event. “The question is how to get that active in all children and adults.”

Parks, who lives in Detroit, spends much of her time with the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, a foundation to boost children’s potential by acquainting them with civil rights history and social action. Parks’ $10,000 fee goes to the institute.

Her presence also stirred the emotions of Ervin Lawson, president of the black student union at Mesa College, who was one of two men to escort Parks to the podium and present her with a bouquet of flowers.

“I almost started crying a couple of times . . . thinking about the history. I was so moved,” the 24-year-old sophomore said.