I was born 50 years
â
I was born 50 years after slavery, in 1913.
I was allowed to read.
My mother, who was a teacher,
taught me when I was a very young child.
The first school I attended was a small building
that went from first to sixth grade.
There was one teacher for all of the students.
There could be anywhere from 50 to 60 students of all different ages.
â
Meaning
This quote reflects on being born after slavery but still within segregation, and on how education from her mother shaped her early life.
About Author
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks was an American civil rights activist celebrated for her pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Her quotes often reflect courage, justice, and dignity. Parks inspires activists, students, and citizens to stand against injustice, embrace civic responsibility, and advocate for equality and human rights.
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â Time begins the healing process of wounds cut deeply by oppression. We soothe ourselves with the salve of attempted indifference, accepting the false pattern set up by the horrible restriction of Jim Crow laws. â
This quote means oppression leaves wounds that time only partly heals, especially when people are pressured to accept the false normal of unjust laws.
â I have been refused entrance on the buses because I would not pay my fare at the front and go around to the rear door to enter. That was the custom if the bus was crowded up to the point where the white passengers would start occupying. â
This quote describes the humiliating customs of segregated buses, where Black riders paid but were still denied equal treatment and entry.
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This quote means the event became historic not because she planned it that way, but because many people joined together in response.