Utah civil-rights leaders remember charismatic Parks

Rosa Parks, often referred to as the "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement," possessed a powerful charisma.

"Her message was, 'I believe in freedom, and I want freedom for others as well,' " says the Rev. France Davis of Calvary Baptist Church, who marched for voting rights with Parks in 1965.

Parks, 92, died Oct. 24 in Detroit. Nearly half a century ago, she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery city bus.

As thousands of mourners attended Parks' funeral in Detroit Wednesday, Utah's civil rights leaders remembered her legacy. Those who met Parks remembered a soft-spoken woman who carried herself with grace.

Parks' action on Dec. 1, 1955, triggered a 381-day boycott of the segregated bus system and gave momentum to the civil-rights movement.

"She was determined," Davis said. "She knew it was time for a change, and somebody needed to be a focal point. She was willing to be that."

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. ordered that flags be flown at half-staff Wednesday, and Utah Transit Authority buses were driven with their lights on for several hours.

"Rosa Parks was one of the last century's most transformational figures, whose courage and dignity paved the way for equal rights," Huntsman said in a statement.

Archie Archuleta, chairman of the Utah Coalition of La Raza, said people often "gloss over" the fact that Parks' stand was extremely dangerous in a South where those who rebelled could be jailed or, sometimes, lynched.

"It took real, visceral courage to do what she did," Archuleta said. "What she won was the opening of the eyes of the American people to the great disservice being done to black Americans by Jim Crow . . . that injustices perpetrated on blacks and other minorities is just not acceptable."

Michael Styles, director of the Office of Black Affairs, attributes his own opportunity to pursue the American dream — from living in his neighborhood to serving as a state official — to the sacrifices of Rosa Parks.

Styles said when he once shook Parks' hand, "I was just giddy. . . . It was just an incredible moment."

Jeanetta Williams, president of the Salt Lake Branch NAACP, invited Parks to speak in Salt Lake City for Human Rights Day in 1992. It took some convincing, Williams said, but Parks accepted the invitation and presented the branch's first Rosa Parks Award, which honors a woman who has shown courage and helped to keep the dream alive."

"It was very touching. She was just an ordinary woman who had done extraordinary things," Williams said. "I am very grateful and thankful that I was one . . . who did get to meet her and spend time with her."

Williams and Betty Sawyer, president of the Ogden Branch NAACP, said that Parks' legacy is to take action for justice, rather than stand by on the sidelines.

"It's a call for us as individuals and organizations to reassess where we are . . . to be change agents, especially in the face of discrimination and injustice," Sawyer said. "It's all too easy for us to be comfortable. . . .

"The worst legacy we can give to her is to do nothing."

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com