svikasha "The Rosa Parks Story" is an exceptional film that portrays the life of one of America's greatest Civil Rights figures. The film depicts this remarkable woman's life from her childhood to her rise in the Civil Rights Movement as she goes on to inspire the Montgomery Bus Boycott which to this day remains one of the most powerful examples of civil disobedience in national memory. Prior to the late 1960's much of the southern United States was deeply segregated with entrenched systematic discrimination against people of color. Rosa Parks helped spark the Civil Rights Movement in the south that culminated in creating a more progressive and tolerant country. Early in the film, the movie briefly discusses the plight of the Scottsboro Boys who were a group of African American youth who were sentenced to death with little to no evidence for allegedly sexually assaulting two white women. The poor young men who were travelling migrant workers at the time of their arrest were eviscerated by the deeply racist legal system of Alabama and would have been unjustly executed if it weren't for the intervention of the Communist Party in the United States. This story is depicted in the Hollywood film "Heaven Falls". As portrayed in "The Rosa Parks Story", the NAACP tried to assist these boys. But like so many black youth who were swept up by the racist violence that was a regular feature of the south at the time, the NAACP's efforts provided no avail. After witnessing a series of humiliating and deeply harrowing experiences, Rosa Parks transforms on-screen in the film from a young women into a leader who begins her Civil Rights career as a secretary for the NAACP.The "Rosa Parks Story" is powerful because it took the time to remind the viewers of the reason why so many black folk depended on the bus system in the south. Poverty was one major reason. But even if a black man managed to save up for a personal car, by owning a car these men became targets for police and hoodlums. It wasn't easy being a colored person who owned a car. This fact is demonstrated in "The Rosa Parks Story" when Rosa Parks' husband is humiliated by police officers in front of her. Rosa Parks sets out to change this broken system. She starts by changing Montgomery's segregated bus system. The talented actress Angela Bassett deserves praise for her performance which captured the class and dignity that Rosa Parks displayed throughout her entire life. It isn't easy to portray such a remarkable historical figure. The slow piano music that graces the background is kind of unimaginative. But the movie doesn't lack passion. This movie will make you angry if you have a conscience. But that is kind of the point. There was a time when colored people could not try on shoes in public stores or even share water fountains at public parks. There was a time when color folks got lynched by mobs or electrocuted to death for the slightest perceived transgressions. America has a dark history of injustice that shouldn't be hidden by a veil. "The Rosa Parks Story" as a film does justice to the history. One thing the movie gets right is bringing up Colvin Claudette, the fifteen year old girl who was the first person arrested for refusing to give up her seat in Montgomery. The main reason Rosa Parks became a champion of the Civil Rights Movement was her impeccable character. Unlike for others, nobody could ever accuse Rosa Parks of being a criminal. That poignant fact made her arrest all the more awakening. Even Rosa waivers in the film when confronted with the choice to give up her seat to a white man at the greatest moment of her lifetime. She couldn't have known that her moment of indecision would be one of the most powerful moments in the civil rights movement. As Rosa contemplates giving up her seat, other bus riders, even black ones, beg her to give up her seat. They just want to go about their daily routine without a fuss. But that reluctance for change was precisely the problem. After the fateful day of December 1, 1955, their daily routines would never be the same again. The greatest line in the film happens during an argument between Rosa and her caring husband who rudely admonishes her by stating, "You're not Harriet Tubman god **** it". She replies, "No, I'm only Rosa Parks".

bkoganbing In this film made three years before her death at 92, Rosa Parks was given a most accurate portrayal of her life and the times she grew up in. One simple act of disobedience to an unjust and demeaning law sparked the conscience of the caring members of a nation.I have to confess that I did not know much about Rosa Parks other than that act on Christmas Eve of 1955 when she refused to give up a seat on a bus to a white person because the Jim Crow laws demanded it. In fact I believe that most people think that she was just a department store seamstress which the civil rights movement used as a symbol against injustice.Rosa Parks, born Rosa Louise McCauley in the area around Montgomery, Alabama was quite politically aware. Part of that came from her marriage to barber Raymond Parks played here by Peter Francis James. It may have looked like an ordinary black barbershop to a lot of people, but in fact it was a meeting place for what was deemed revolutionary activity by the segregationists in control. You could find all kinds of radical literature there, not on public display to be sure, but stuff put out by the NAACP and even the Communist Party. When Raymond had met and was courting Rosa in 1932 he was raising money for the Scottsboro case, the notorious one where several black homeless youths riding in a freight car during the depression, allegedly gang raped some white women who were in similar economic circumstances.Rosa was the secretary of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP which was not a paying job. Which was why she was working as a seamstress when her call from destiny occurred on Christmas. The woman had a history of civil rights activism that I was not aware of.Angela Bassett does a fine job in capturing the hopes and dreams and frustrations of a woman who saw and wanted a lot more from life than what she was restricted to. You'll also see Dexter King play his immortal father Martin Luther King who first came to prominence during the boycott of the Montgomery Bus System that resulted from Rosa's arrest and fine.It's now 64 years since Rosa Parks made a defiant act against injustice the symbol of the Civil Rights movement. The Rosa Parks Story is an absolute must for any young viewers who want to acquaint themselves with a triumph against an unjust way of life.

Catherine_Grace_Zeh THE ROSA PARKS STORY, in my opinion, is an outstanding biopic about one of the greatest civil rights leaders of all time. The performances were smashing, the soundtrack was great, and the casting was just right. Anyway, if you ask me, it was cruel that Rosa (Angela Bassett) had to give up her bus seat after a long day at work. I would probably take a stand myself if I were in her shoes. However, she managed to make something out of it. If you want to know what that something is, you'll have to see the movie. In conclusion, if you are a die-hard fan of Angela Bassett, I heartily recommend this outstanding biopic about one of the greatest civil rights leaders of all time. You're in for a real treat and a good time, so don't miss this one.

dataconflossmoor This comment is to commemorate the historic event fifty years ago whereby Rosa Parks refused to relinquish her seat on the bus in the devastatingly volatile southern state of Alabama. Her actions accelerated the snail's pace progress of civil rights tremendously!!..It is alarming to realize that not all that long ago, we as a nation were hopelessly mired in an abyss of racial hatred so deep, that Rosa Parks set a nationwide precedent, by simply refusing to acquiesce to the premise of racial inequality!!...It is abhorrent and reprehensible to think!! that Rosa Parks was punished, and subject to criminal repercussions, just because she was told that as an individual, she was inferior, and she did not concur!!...Rosa Parks said NO!! to racial hatred!!!...Rosa Parks said NO!! to baseless presumptions!!! and Rosa Parks became nauseated to the breaking point to say ENOUGH!! when she was denied a right that is ascertained by the constitution, a right that is pronounced by the scripture, and a right that is decreed by God...The right of equality!!!In the past fifty years , we have made great strides in civil liberties and rights accorded us...However, the single biggest killer wolf in sheep's clothing, and the most deadly form of hatred, is when we say that hatred no longer exists!!! Many atrocities stemming from hatred which have been vitiated in the last fifty years are a form of self congratulatory accomplishment, but by no means, any indication of complete progress..Hatred is an insidious assassin which can strike without notice, if we pretend that racial and social hatred no longer exist, then we are capitulating to a lethal ignorance which will inevitably set us back to the dreadful days of repugnant oppression!! This incident was socially appalling!! I am an individual who detests even a modicum of social inequity, this qualifies me to uphold what I believe in on this issue, and so many other issues pertinent to egalitarianism as well!!... When Rosa Parks refused to give her seat up some fifty years ago, she was not imbued by some lofty idealism, rather, she enforced her rudimentary insight to justifiably object to what she felt was a horrible injustice!! Rosa Parks serves as a shining inspiration to many Americans, and she has instilled in them, the indispensable spirituality, to covet the privilege of freedom, and to cherish the right of equality!!!