On November 2, 2005, nearly 7,000  people packed the Greater Grace Temple for the funeral of a little woman who had a great heart - Rosa Parks. Attendees included government officials and celebrities. During her lifetime she received almost countless awards and honors. Why all the honors?  What can we learn from her?

Fifty years ago, as a 42-year-old tailor's assistant in a Montgomery, Alabama department store, Rosa made her stand against segregation by staying seated in her bus seat after being ordered to give up her seat. She was black; the new arrivals were white. At the time, laws allowed for the separation of whites and blacks in public places such as city buses. Blacks had to sit toward the back. If the white section filled, blacks had to sit further back. The laws were wrong; it was unfair, and she knew it. 

It would have been easy for her to take the easy road and go with the flow like most people. But segregation was wrong. She'd experienced it in many ways. As a child, she'd see white kids ride by her in the school bus, while she had to walk to school. She remembered, all too vividly, hearing a lynching by the Klu Klux Klan outside of her house, fearing that they would burn her house down. As an adult, she'd step up to the front of the bus to pay the fare, only to have to walk back out of the bus to enter further back on the bus. Sometimes the bus would take off before she could get back in. It was unfair. Someone had to do something about it. 

As an adult, she fought discrimination through her work with the local chapter of the NAACP (The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), devoting her time to support the rights of Afro-Americans. 

So it was no surprise that when Rosa and three others were asked to give up their seats, although the others complied, she politely refused. She sat alone. She wasn't physically tired. She was tired of discrimination. Somebody needed to make a stand. She made her stand by sitting. 

Here are the blow by blow details, according to Rosa: 

The bus driver demands, "Y'all better make it light on yourselves and let me have those seats." 

Rosa comments: "The driver wanted us to stand up, the four of us. We didn't move at the beginning, but he says, 'Let me have these seats.' And the other three people moved, but I didn't." Rosa simply moved over to the window seat and stayed put. 

The bus driver continues: "Why don't you stand up?" 

Rosa replies, "I said I don't think I should have to stand up." 

Bus Driver: "Well, if you don't stand up, I'm going to have to call the police and have you arrested."

Rosa: "You may do that." 

The bus driver proceeded to call the police, who promptly arrested her.   

The ensuing arrest, detainment and fine were small stuff compared to the later harassment and death threats to her and her husband. They also lost their jobs. 

As a result of Rosa's stand, many people rallied around her cause. A new minister in town, Dr. Martin Luther King, took up the cause and led a boycott of the bus system for 381 days. Since 2/3 of the bus riders in Montgomery were black, they got the system's attention. 

After she was convicted of breaking the law, she appealed her decision until in November 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed segregation on buses.

Very few people can say that their actions caused positive change on a national scale, but Rosa could. She was able to live the rest of her life knowing that she'd faced her fears, stood up for something significant, and made a difference. 

Many of us have heard the story of Rosa Parks, but may have never thought through just how her character was necessary to make her mark on the nation. 

First, she needed courage and determination to make her stand. In her own words:

"When that white driver stepped back toward us, when he waved his hand and ordered us up and out of our seats, I felt a determination cover my body like a quilt on a winter night."

Second, she was neither violent nor hot-tempered.  Had she been either of these, the press and lawyers might have swayed public opinion and juries by arguing that she was simply an argumentative rabble-rouser who deserved to be moved to another seat. 

Third, she had built a great reputation. The NAACP needed a person who could stand up to public scrutiny and represent Afro-Americans well. Rosa had completed school and studied to be a teacher. She had a job. She was faithful to her husband. She had developed not only a quiet fortitude, but an understanding of the political system.  

According to Dr. Martin Luther King, "Mrs. Parks...was regarded as one of the finest citizens of Montgomery—not one of the finest Negro citizens—but one of the finest citizens of Montgomery." 

Her character not only motivated her to make a stand, but allowed her stand to shake the nation. 

1. What did Rosa Parks do that changed the country?
2. How was the system unfair?
3. What did she risk by refusing to move from her seat?
4. How is our country better because of her stand?
5. Do you think she felt good because of her actions?
6. What do you see that's unfair in your school or city? 
7. Is there a way that you could make a difference? 

(Written by Steve Miller, Copyright November 2, 2005, all rights reserved. Sources: CBS News, Final Tributes For Rosa Parks, Detroit, Nov. 2, 2005; Pioneer of Civil Rights, Rosa Parks www.achievement.org ; Civil Rights Leader Dies (Scholastic News) by Ezra Billinkoff; The Time 100, Rosa Parks, Her simple act of protest galvanized America's civil rights revolution, by RITA DOVE; Wikipedia)