705.? Fifty Years Ago, Rosa Parks Took a Stand That Changed the Country Forever. Readers' Theater

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "705.? Fifty Years Ago, Rosa Parks Took a Stand That Changed the Country Forever. Readers' Theater"

Maximillian Alan Haynes
7 years ago
Views:

1 Readers' Theater O Rosa Parks was first an-ested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man. Two months later, as shown here, she was arrested for protesting during the Montgomery bus boycott. 705.? I Fifty Years Ago, Rosa Parks Took a Stand That Changed the Country Forever

2 Cast of Characters Narrators 1,2,3,4 Bus driver Rosa Parks Bus riders 1,2 Police officer Raymond Parks Rosa Parks's husband Clifford Durr Rosa Parks's friend E. D. Nixon civil rights leader Organizers 1,2 Protesters 1.2 Girl in crowd Fred Gray Rosa Parks's lawyer Female witness a white woman Judge Introduction Narrator 1: Growing up, Rosa Parks knew what to do when she saw a school bus heading her way hide. Narrator 2: The bus wasn't coming to take her to school. It was only for white children, and when the kids saw her walking along the side of the road, they would throw trash at her. Narrator 3: She was angry, but she knew better than to fight back. Segregation was the law of the land in the 1920s in rural Alabama. African Americans could be killed just for talking back to a white person. Narrator 4: As the years passed, Parks's anger grew. She began to take quiet stabs at segregation. She refused to drink from "colored"* water fountains, and she was kicked off public buses for refusing to sit in the section reserved for African Americans in the back. Narrator 1: She joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to fight for equal rights. Narrator 2: This is what Parks did on December i, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama. Scene 1 Narrator 3: It's late in the day. Parks is on her way home from her job as a seamstress at a local department store. She boards a city bus and pays her fare. Narrator 4: Suddenly, she stiffens. She sees that the bus driver is the same man who threw her off a bus 12 years earlier. The driver thinks African Americans should stay in their place at the back of the bus. Narrator 1: Holding her head high. Parks walks past the section of seats reserved for white people in the front of the bus. She sits in the front row of the "colored"* section with three other African Americans; a man and two women across the aisle. Bus driver: Next stop. Empire Theater! Narrator 2: After the bus grinds to a stop, a few white people get on. They quickly fill the empty seats in the "white people" section. One white man is left standing. Bus driver: (to Parks and (he people in her row) There are white people who want to sit down. Let me have those front seats. Narrator 3: Parks and the three people in her aisle are silent. Nobody moves. Bus driver: (threatening) You know white folks and black folks can't sit in the same row. Y'all better make it light on yourselves and let me have those seats. Narrator 4: The women across the aisle rise. Parks tucks in her legs so the man in the seat next to her can get up, but she doesn't stand up. Rosa Parks: (to herself) I don't see how standing up is going to "make it light" on me. The more we give in to segregation, the worse it gets. Narrator 1: Instead of moving farther back in the bus like the others. Parks shifts one seat over in the same row. Bus driver (to Parks) Are you going to stand up? Rosa Parks: No. Bus driver Then I'm going to have you arrested. VOCABULARY: boycott: to stop buying or using something for a cause KnowYourWortd Extra' 11

3 Readers' Theater Rosa Parks: (quietly) You may do that. Narrator 2: A nervous hush falls over the passengers as the bus driver calls the police. A few African Americans hurry off. Others whisper quietly among themselves. Bus rider 1: (in a hushed tone) I wonder what's going to happen. Bus rider 2: (worriedly) I don't know, but she's in trouble now. Narrator 3: A few minutes later, two police officers arrive. They board the bus and walk toward Parks. Police officer Did the driver tell you to stand? Rosa Parks: Yes. Police officer: Why didn't you stand up when the driver spoke to you? Rosa Parks: (defiantly) Why do you all push us around? Police officer I don't know, but the law is the law, and you're under arrest. Scene 2 Narrator 4: When Parks is released from jail on bail, she meets with the NAACP, including the local NAACP president, E. D. Nixon, to talk about what happened. Narrator 1: Raymond Parks, Rosa's husband, and Clifford Durr, a white lawyer who is a friend of Parks's, sit by Parks's side. Raymond Parks: I can't believe this. Clifford Durr: Rosa, this never should have happened to you. Rosa Parks: I know one thing: I will never, ever ride a segregated bus again. Even if it means I have to walk to work. Durr: That's right. You have to stand up for what you believe in. E. D. Nixon: Wait a minute. Rosa, this may be a blessing in disguise. How would you feel about making your arrest a test case against segregation? If we play our cards right, we could take this all the way to the Supreme Court. Rosa Parks: I don't know. I don't like being in 12 KnowYourWorid Extra the spotlight, and I don't want to put my family in danger. Raymond Parks: Rosa, as much as you hate attention, this may be our best chance to fight segregation laws. Rosa Parks: (after pausing for a few moments to think) Fine. I'll do it. Nixon: Good. In the meantime, let's show the white people of Montgomery exactly how much they need us. We'll start a bus boycott. Tell everyone to stop riding the buses. Scene 3 Narrator 2: Jo Ann Robinson and other members of the Women's Political Council meet at midnight. They cut a stencil by hand and used it to make 35,000 handbills telling people to boycott the city buses on Monday. Narrator 3: As dawn breaks, they drop off the flyers at local black schools so students can take the handbills home to their parents. Drganizer 1: Every black-owned cab company in the city has agreed to pick up people at the bus stops and charge only 10 cents per ride the same price as the bus. Organizer 2:1 hope the word has gotten out. I asked all the city's black ministers to tell their parishioners to boycott the buses. Organizer 1: Do you think this will work? Will people really stay off the buses? Organizer 2:1 don't know. It looks like rain, though. That could be trouble. Scene 4 Narrator 4: Dark clouds loom overhead, threatening to dump heavy rain on the city. AfHcan Americans huddle at bus stops but they're not waiting for buses. Narrator 1: Instead, they are lining up to pile into the cabs owned by African Americans. The city buses are almost empty. Protester 1:1 ean't believe this ^I never thought we could organize a successful protest on such a massive scale. Protester 2: Well, I think it's about time. I'm sick and tired of being forced to stand on

4 OThe boycott worked so well that ine bus company neariy went bankrupt. buses even when there are empty seats in front in the white section. Protester 1: Not a week goes by that a bus driver doesn't call me a racist slur. I'd rather walk to work every day than put up with segregation any longer. Protester 2: I know what you mean. The city bus company would be nothing without us, and yet the bus drivers treat us like dirt. We'll show them! Scene 5 Narrator 2: Parks walks up the courthouse steps for her trial with her husband. Raymond Parks: Vm here for you, Rosa. Don't worry. Rosa Parks: I'm not nervous. I know what 1 have to do. Narrator 3: The steps of the courthouse are packed tightly with people. Some bystanders jeer at her. taunting and threatening her. Others shout their support. Girl in crowd: Oh, she's so sweet. They've messed with the wrong one now! Narrator 4: Once Parks and her husband manage to push their way into the courtroom, the trial begins. Fred Gray: The defendant pleads not guilty. Narrator 1: The bus driver takes the stand. Parks is not called to testify. Bus driver: I politely asked her to move to the back, as is required by city ordinance. Like a typical Negro*, she refused to even listen. Female witness: I was on the bus, and I saw an empty seat in the back. She was just trying to cause problems. Rosa Parks: (to her lawyer) That's not true! She wasn't even there! Judge: I find Rosa Parks guilty of violating the city ordinance. She must pay a $io fine, plus $4 in court costs. Narrator 2: The crowd of supporters in the courtroom reacts angrily to the verdict. Parks's lawyer waits for the noise to die down. Gray: I will appeal this decision to the Montgomery Circuit Court. Every legal issue will be raised that I think is necessary to defend my client. Rosa Parks: You haven't heard the last of us. Conclusion Narrator 3: And they hadn't heard the last of Rosa Parks or the civil rights movement. Narrator 4: The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Narrator 1: On November 13, 1956, the Supreme Court ruled that Alabama's segregated buses were unconstitutional. Narrator 2: After the bus boycott, Parks and her family moved to Detroit, where she continued to teach tolerance. Rosa Parks: Everyone living together in peace and harmony and love... that's the goal that we seek. I think that the more people there are who reach that state of mind, the better we will all be. Laura MeClure ^Indicates words that were used in 1955, but may be eonsidered offensive today. KnowYburWofklExUa*

I Am Rosa Parks. Teacher s Guide for the unabridged audiobook. Introductory Material

I Am Rosa Parks. Teacher s Guide for the unabridged audiobook. Introductory Material I Am Rosa Parks by Rosa Parks with Jim Haskins Teacher s Guide for the unabridged audiobook Introductory Material Summary: Rosa Parks was born in the segregated south, where racism was not only a way of