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Rosa Parks passed this week at the ripe old age of 92! Wow! She sure had quite a life, especially after that dang day some
40+ years ago when she wouldn't move from her seat on a city bus. With the news of her passing, headlines across the country
said things such as "Rosa Parks Sparked The Civil Rights Movement."
Now, I'm not a huge history buff, but I do know a few things... There was already a very active Civil Rights movement
in place, although you could certainly argue that what happened to her was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back.
And truth be told, if you ever had a chance to speak to this special lady, you would find that when she did what she did,
she did it because she was just plain old tired, not because she wanted to spur a nation to change its wicked ways.
OK... what I really want to get to is this: if anyone SPARKED the Civil Rights movement, it was radio, specifically BLACK
radio. Think about it... sure there were announcements in churches and word of mouth. But who got the word out about those
meetings and the news of what was happening where? Black radio, although in many cities it was in AM form. Black radio, whether
it was the few (then) Black-owned and/or -formatted stations spread the news of Rosa Parks' arrest, Martin Luther King Jr.'s
arrests, marches and speeches, the bombing in Birmingham and so forth. It was how people in Montgomery found out what was
going on in Selma. It was how people in Chicago, New York and Dallas found out what was happening in Jackson, Mississippi.
All this to say that Black radio deserves to be credited as being a MAJOR part of the Civil Rights movement. And even
today, it is still the place its listeners go for news from a "different" angle, as well as help in time of need.
Rest in peace, Rose Parks. And stay strong, Black radio. Play the hits, make your bottom line, but remember just how strong
and powerful you can be!
Carol O
Founder/Editor of Starpoynt Magazine
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