The Rebellious Life of Ms. Rosa Parks

By: Jennifer Vintzileos

For many who remember history class growing up Rosa Parks was best known for her refusal to give up her seat on a bus. She was jailed for this and her actions not only sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott but spurred on the Civil Rights Movement. Yet Rosa Parks was so much more than a woman on a bus. She was the First Lady of a Movement, a wife, an aunt, a youth group leader, an active member of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and most of all: an unsung rebel. Directed by Johanna Hamilton and Yoruba Richen, the documentary The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks goes beyond the bus boycott and into the life of an ordinary woman with an extraordinary spirit and, more importantly, gives Rosa Parks her dues for her part in the fight for Civil Rights.

Rosa Louise McCauley was born in 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama to Leona and Joe McCauley…who would later separate. Leona decided to take Rosa and her brother Sylvester to her family’s home in Pine Level, Alabama. Despite the political and social climate of racism that existed towards the black community at that time Rosa was not one to shirk away from the fight for all to be treated equally. To make sure that her daughter was afforded an education that was not available to most black women at that time, Rosa’s mother Leona sent her daughter to Ms. White’s School to further her education. She would later have to leave to return home to take care of her family.

By 1931 Rosa had met Raymond Parks and was drawn in by his political drive and prominence in the NAACP. From there, Rosa would marry Raymond and make it her mission in life to bring justice to those in the black community who faced disadvantages in the system. It was at this point that Rosa’s life was never quite the same as she moved to Montgomery, Alabama with her husband and became an active member of the NAACP. She would use her voice within the organization to shed light on the injustices and inequalities faced by the black community, but do so in her kind, rebellious demeanor. And when her incident on a bus made headlines, she became the face of a movement.

While Rosa Parks is mainly relegated to a page in textbook history for many, Directors Hamilton and Richen give Rosa Parks her long overdue accolades. The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks is a fitting tribute to a woman who went above and beyond in the fight for Civil Rights. And even though many of us know that story many times over, what happened next? Did Parks continue the fight or settle down? How did her life change after her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement? Hamilton and Richen delve into those answers and give viewers a glimpse into the life of Rosa Parks and those who knew her best and how her kindness, determination and drive to keep improving the welfare of those around her one case at a time.

What struck me the most was the way that Parks and her mission was quietly pushed to the back after she had done her part in the bus boycott. While the black community faced segregation and inequality head on, the black women were put through even more limitations. But Parks never wavered. She never backed down, and like on that bus…she refused to be silent. Even up until her death in 2005, she used her voice and platform for the greater good with a kind, strong-willed heart.

Parks’ story is more than just that boycott, more than just one instance of defiance. Parks would face many moments where injustice for skin color and sometimes the limitations of her gender meant doubling down on the good fight. And she would fight like hell up until her death. Additionally, with her death she continued to inspire the next generation. At the end of The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks we see our subject truly summed up her mission and overall demeanor best: “The time had come to not take it anymore. I had had enough, and this was truly the end of being pushed around.”

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks is set to premiere on Peacock this year.