The Radical Rosa Parks
Celebrated primarily for her role in sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Parks lived a long life of radical activism that demands greater recognition.
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Today marks the 66th anniversary of the day civil rights activist Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. As transformative a moment as it was, this singular act has come to define the entirety of her dynamic and multidimensional life—much in the same way the first four syllables of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech have come to replace the civil rights leader’s own radical legacy.
The truth is that Parks lived an entire life of activism that deserves to be acknowledged.
To correct the sanitized account of Parks’ life, propagated largely by mainstream media, we produced an episode a few years ago examining the events that shaped Parks’ childhood, her arrest on Dec. 1, 1955, and her fight against northern segregation—an incredibly consequential period that’s been seemingly erased from history.
Dubbed “Rosa Parks: What You Didn’t Learn in School,” the podcast sought to provide a more complete picture of one of the most historic figures in American history.
As the country recalls Parks’ bravery today, we wanted to share this episode again so we can collectively celebrate the lifetime of contributions made by Parks.
Listen to “Rosa Parks: What You Didn’t Learn in School”
All podcasts apps (Scroll through your podcast feed to find this particular episode. It was released Feb. 1, 2019.)
Additional Resources
Special shoutout to Jeanne Theoharis, author of “The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks.” Theoharis was featured throughout the episode and her book greatly informed our research. You can grab a copy of the book at Bookshop.org.
ICYMI: We produced a similar episode about the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was our inaugural episode and remains one of our most downloaded. After you’re done listening to the Parks episode, check out our episode about MLK.
Before you go….
We have a powerful episode coming out tomorrow that you don’t want to miss! We dig deep into the capitalist grift that defined the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.
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News Beat is a multi-award-winning podcast brought to you by Morey Creative Studios and Manny Faces Media.
Audio Editor/Sound Designer/Producer/Host: Manny Faces
Editor-In-Chief/Producer: Christopher Twarowski
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Episode Art: Jeff Main
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