Rosa Parks: The Power of the Individual
“Tolerance” is not good enough anymore.
As we honor Juneteenth, I am thinking about this certificate I received in 2005 signed by Rosa Parks and Morris Dees. It was a great honor. One of my earliest memories of growing up in Kolkata, India, is a small piece of paper on which I scribbled the words, “Tolerance is key.” It seems surprising, coming from a child, but it stands to reason. I grew up in an environment where speaking out for justice, especially on behalf of vulnerable segments of the population, was encouraged. My father was an activist who spoke out frequently, and whose convictions eventually landed him in a political prison. Throughout my childhood, and later in my personal and professional life, I have been focused on promoting tolerance, respect, and understanding among people of different races, religions, and cultures.
Soon after moving to the United States, I developed a keen interest in the American civil rights movement and its leaders. I started to lend my voice, time and financial support to various organizations. One of these was the National Campaign for Tolerance, where Rosa Parks served as one of the co-chairs along with Morris Dees, a prominent civil rights lawyer and activist.
With a single act, Rosa Parks changed the course of history. On December 1, 1955, she refused to give up her seat in the Black section of a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus to a white passenger, as she was legally obliged to do. She was removed from the bus and arrested. Yet her spontaneous defiance sparked the ensuing Montgomery Bus Boycott, a movement of blacks and whites that took shape within hours of her arrest and catalyzed the civil rights movement across the United States. The boycott lasted for over a year — a year in which black commuters walked, rode bikes, or accepted rides from sympathetic whites — until a district court ruling declared bus segregation unconstitutional. This ruling was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, striking down the practice across the country. And this was just the beginning: the boycott galvanized a national network of support, and created a cadre of committed activists, that would form the backbone of the civil rights movement for decades to come.
Another interesting aspect of Rosa Parks’ impact is the way it has deepened my own understanding of my calling.
“Tolerance” is not good enough anymore. I understand that while tolerance is an important first step toward promoting equality and justice, the ultimate goal should be to move beyond tolerance and toward acceptance. Tolerance implies that there is something about someone that we may not like or agree with, but that we will put up with it. It is generally understood as a necessary component of a functioning democracy and stable world order. But there is a hint of segregation about it. It’s like that Montgomery bus, with Whites upfront tolerating the presence of Blacks in the back. Acceptance, on the other hand, means embracing and celebrating diversity and recognizing the inherent value and dignity of every individual.
Today we must advocate for policies that support equal access to education, employment, and healthcare and challenge systemic barriers that prevent marginalized communities from achieving full equality. It will require all of us to recognize our own biases and limitations and our willingness to challenge them and change ourselves. It will require continuous outreach to create a more inclusive and equitable society.
Barack Obama said, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” Rosa Parks’ legacy teaches us exactly that — the power of individual action to effect change. This conviction underlies all striving for human and social betterment.
Neil Ghosh, president of MGR Professional Services, advisor to Ousri Family Foundation, and former chief executive officer of SOS Children’s Villages USA, is an advocate for vulnerable children and climate action. He focuses on advancing nimble and agile cross-sector collaboration systems to foster sustainable development.
