Rosa Parks Zitate

„Die Welt stand auf, als Rosa Parks sitzen blieb.“

„Ich wollte nur frei sein, wie jeder andere auch. Ich wollte nicht immerzu gedemütigt werden, wegen etwas, auf das ich keinen Einfluss hatte: Die Farbe meiner Haut.“

„Jeder Mensch sollte sein Leben als Vorbild für andere leben.“

„Rassismus ist allgegenwärtig. Aber es liegt an uns, unsere Kinder darauf vorzubereiten und hoffentlich können wir ihn irgendwann überwinden.“

„Die Menschen sagen immer ich hätte meinen Sitzplatz nicht hergegeben, weil ich müde war, aber das stimmt nicht. Ich war nicht physisch müse… Nein, ich war es nur leid nachgeben zu müssen.“

„Erinnerungen an unser Leben, unsere Arbeit und unsere Taten werden für immer in anderen weiter leben.“

„Wurdest du jemals verletzt und als die Stelle anfing zu heilen, hast du sie abgekratzt und wieder eine Narbe gemacht.“

„ie einzige Sache die mich ärgert, ist, dass wir so lange mit dem Protest gewartet haben.“

„Ich möchte als Person in Erinnerung bleiben, die frei sein wollte… damit auch andere Menschen frei sein können.“

„Irgendwann muss man einmal »Halt!« sagen [...], um diesen ständigen Schikanen ein Ende zu bereiten und herauszufinden, auf welche Menschenrechte ich Anspruch hatte.“

“Arrest me for sitting on a bus? You may do that.”

“I believe we are here on the planet Earth to live, grow up and do what we can to make this world a better place for all people to enjoy freedom.”

“Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.”

“I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.”

“People always said that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”

“I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free… so other people would be also free.”

“Have you ever been hurt and the place tries to heal a bit, and you just pull the scar off of it over and over again.”

“I had given up my seat before, but this day, I was especially tired. Tired from my work as a seamstress, and tired from the ache in my heart.”

“I do the very best I can to look upon life with optimism and hope and looking forward to a better day, but I don't think there is anything such as complete happiness. It pains me that there is still a lot of Klan activity and racism. I think when you say you're happy, you have everything that you need and everything that you want, and nothing more to wish for. I haven't reached that stage yet.”

“From my upbringing and the Bible I learned people should stand up for rights just as the children of Israel stood up to the Pharaoh.”

“God has always given me the strength to say what is right… I had the strength of God and my ancestors with me.”

“I did not get on the bus to get arrested. I got on the bus to go home.”

“I would like to be known as a person who is concerned about freedom and equality and justice and prosperity for all people.”

“Each person must live their life as a model for others.”

“The only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”

“I'd see the bus pass every day… But to me, that was a way of life; we had no choice but to accept what was the custom. The bus was among the first ways I realized there was a black world and a white world.”

“I did not want to be mistreated, I did not want to be deprived of a seat that I had paid for. It was just time… there was opportunity for me to take a stand to express the way I felt about being treated in that manner. I had not planned to get arrested. I had plenty to do without having to end up in jail. But when I had to face that decision, I didn't hesitate to do so because I felt that we had endured that too long. The more we gave in, the more we complied with that kind of treatment, the more oppressive it became.”

“Since I have always been a strong believer in God, I knew that He was with me, and only He could get me through that next step.”

“Thank you very much. I honor my late husband Raymond Parks, other Freedom Fighters, men of goodwill who could not be here. I'm also honored by young men who respect me and have invited me as an elder. Raymond, or Parks as I called him, was an activist in the Scottsboro Boys case, voter registration, and a role model for youth. As a self-taught businessman, he provided for his family, and he loved and respected me. Parks would have stood proud and tall to see so many of our men uniting for our common man and committing their lives to a better future for themselves, their families, and this country. Although criticism and controversy has been focused on in the media instead of benefits for the one million men assembling peacefully for spiritual food and direction, it is a success. I pray that my multiracial and international friends will view this [some audio unclear] gathering as an opportunity for all men but primarily men of African heritage to make changes in their lives for the better. I am proud of all groups of people who feel connected with me in any way, and I will always work for human rights for all people. However, as an African American woman, I am proud, applaud, and support our men in this assembly. I would a lot like to have male students of the Pathways to Freedom to join me here and wave their hands, but I don't think they're here right now. But thank you all young men of the Pathways to Freedom. Thank you and God bless you all. Thank you.”

“We didn't have any civil rights. It was just a matter of survival, of existing from one day to the next. I remember going to sleep as a girl hearing the Klan ride at night and hearing a lynching and being afraid the house would burn down.”

“Every day before supper and before we went to services on Sundays my grandmother would read the Bible to me, and my grandfather would pray. We even had devotions before going to pick cotton in the fields. Prayer and the Bible, became a part of my everyday thoughts and beliefs. I learned to put my trust in God and to seek Him as my strength.”