#248 quiet strength

I have always admired Rosa Parks for the humble and unassuming way that she made her mark on history.  A seamstress in Alabama, her refusal to give up her bus seat to a white passenger sparked the 381-day Montgomery Bus Boycott that became a key event in the quest for civil rights.  She was born 100 years ago today.

I had the privilege of seeing Mrs. Parks in person at a benefit concert where then Vice President Al Gore presented her with her Congressional Gold Medal of Honor in 1999.  Four decades after she was arrested for violating a city ordinance, she seemed not to understand what all the fuss was about.  

I would speculate that if Rosa Parks had thought her action would put her in the national spotlight, she would have been too afraid to do it.  But on that day*, she utilized what has been called her "quiet strength" to stand up (er, to stay seated) for her convictions.


Rosa Parks is a reminder that you don't have to be gregarious, flamboyant, extroverted or outspoken in your message.  You just need to act.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

*December 1, 1955