Rosa Parks Essays - Montgomery Bus Boycott, Community Organizing

Rosa Parks Essays - Montgomery Bus Boycott, Community Organizing Rosa Parks Who is Rosa Parks? Rosa Parks is someone who grew up believing people should be judged by the respect they have for themselves and others. (Le Blanc, 190) Rosa Parks is mostly known for standing up for herself and for other all other African Americans when she refused to go to the back of the bus to give up her seat for a white man. (Le Blanc, 190) When Rosa took a stand, she didn?t do it to make her name go down in history. She did it because she believed in herself and she stood up for an injustice she thought was wrong. Rosa Parks is a courageous and very remarkable person. Rosa Parks was born in Tuskagee, Alabama. When she was a young child her parents separated. After her parents got divorced, she moved to Montgomery with her mom. (Le Blanc, 189) She grew up with an extended family that consisted of her maternal grandparents and Sylvester, her younger brother. (Le Blanc, 189) Rosa?s mother was a school teacher and she was taught by her until age 11. (Celsi, 1) At age 11 she went to Montgomery Industrial School for Girls. It was an all black school. Everything in Montgomery was either ?blacks only? or ?whites only.? Though she found it humiliating, Parks became used to obeying segregation laws. (Celsi, 1) ?With her mother?s help, Rosa was able to grow up proud of herself and other black people.? (Contemporary Black Biography, 190) By the time she reached the midpoint of her life, Rosa was no longer a stranger to white intimidation. (Le Blanc, 190) At the age of 20, Rosa married Raymond Parks, who was a barber. Rosa and Raymond had to keep steady jobs to support themselves. (Le Blanc, 190) Rosa hated the way of life. She had always dreamed of equality and freedom. (Stewart, 1) Although Rosa grew up with segregation, she turned out to be a very well rounded unique person many people can look up to. She was just a normal person with a normal life, but she did something that not many black people back then had the courage to do?she stood up for herself. In Rosa?s spare time, she became active in the NAACP. She was also active in the Montgomery Voters League. (Le Blanc, 190) The Montgomery Voters League was a group that helped black people pass a special test so they could register to vote. (Le Blanc, 190) Rosa had been silently protesting segregation in her own quiet way over the years. For example, instead of riding up an elevator that said ?blacks only? she would take the stairs. (Le Blanc, 190) The most well known boycott is the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This was a boycott that took place in response to Rosa?s arrest. Her arrest caused black people throughout Montgomery to refuse to ride buses. (Church, 393) The success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott encouraged a wave of massive demonstrations that swept across the South. (Church, 394) Rosa Parks has succeeded in establishing herself in history by what she did. She is one of the most honored and distinguished African Americans in our history. (Asante, 71) Rosa Parks stood didn?t only stand up for herself, she stood up for racism. It must have been hard for her because not only was she an African American, she was also a woman, and back then things were much more difficult for women. Even though Rosa did something very courageous, some might say she isn?t the best leader. Many leaders give speeches, lead demonstrations and write petitions. Rosa Parks didn?t do any of these things. Other people were motivated to do these things because of her standing up for herself. (Asante, 71) The most important incident that happened in Rosa?s life occurred on December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks was riding the bus home from work like she did every day. But that day had been especially tiring. (Le Blanc, 190) The bus was a constant irritation to black people. The front four rows were reserved for whites (and remained empty even when there were not enough white passengers to fill them). The back section, which was always very crowded, was for black passengers. In between

Talking about Age in the Media

Talking about Age in the Media Talking about Age in the Media Talking about Age in the Media By Maeve Maddox Everyone wants to live longer, but no one wants to be old. –Harry Moody, director of academic affairs for AARP (2012). To me old age is always ten years older than I am. –Bernard Baruch, American financier (1870-1965). About forty-two million Americans are 65 years or older. Advertisers, politicians, and researchers often need to refer to this group, but finding a term that will not insult its members is not easy. Various terms have been suggested with varying degrees of success. Elder, elderly, senior, and retiree are the most common. In Canada, according to what I’ve read in forums, the term elder has connotations of venerable age and wisdom; in the United States, however, people tend to associate elder with disapproving church elders or the word elderly. The decline of the acceptability of the word elder is illustrated by the name change of a travel organization established in 1975 for active Americans 60 and older. The parent organization is still called Elderhostel, but in advertising, the program is now known agelessly as â€Å"Road Scholar.† Even the word retiree is heavy with the connotations of age. These days, the American Association of Retired People (founded 1958) goes by its initials only: AARP. When politicians talk about â€Å"our seniors† in the same breath as â€Å"our children,† mature adults understandably bristle. An article in The Senior Times says that the term â€Å"senior citizen† was coined in 1938 during a political campaign. Its use soars on the Ngram Viewer beginning in the 1940s. According to National Public Radio reporter Ina Jaffe, â€Å"senior citizen† is a term that â€Å"seems to annoy just about everyone.† Recognizing the minefield of age and terms relating to it, The AP Stylebook has this entry for the word elderly: Use this word carefully and sparingly. Do not refer to a person as elderly unless it is clearly relevant to the story. It is appropriate in generic phrases that do not refer to specific individuals: concern for the elderly, a home for the elderly, etc. If the intent is to show that an individual’s faculties have deteriorated, cite a graphic example and give attribution for it. Use age when available and appropriate. Apply the same principle to terms such as senior citizen. Age is one of the realities of life that our culture prefers to deny. It’s unlikely that any term can be found to refer to old people that would not be offensive to someone because in our culture, old age itself is seen as offensive. Perhaps the safest course is to refer to the intended age group in numeric terms: between the ages of 65 and 75 above the age of 65 septuagenarian octogenarian nonagenarian centenarian Colloquial synonyms for â€Å"old person† range from friendly to deliberately hurtful, for example: old-timer oldster codger dotard crone coot Although the word codger (like coot) usually has a negative connotation, this review about Dick Van Dyke in the Chicago Tribune (1992) makes a kind of compliment of it: The wonderfully funny Dick Van Dyke, insufficiently honored in his prime, has now passed into the lovable-old-codger stage. His comic gifts are sharper than ever, and he still dances with grace, style and a naughty insouciance. He is much too good for the quirky-old-coot roles that are his lot nowadays. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:70 Idioms with Heart50 Idioms About Arms, Hands, and FingersComma Before Too?