Our reading this week from the Richmond’s Unhealed History book, chapters 7-9 was interesting through the different graphs and maps showing how Richmond has changed over the years. These three chapters were once again filled with difficult reading. The treatment of individuals because of the color of their skin was clear during this time period and is still evident in our society today. One case and point that comes to mind is the National Football League (NFL), where very few African Americans hold the position of Head Coach. In 2021, 71 percent of the players in the NFL were people of color, according to NFL.com. Situations like this happen every day with little corrective actions taking place to move above this injustice. I mentioned the NFL because of the upcoming Super Bowl and all the attention on that game.
This week we had an opportunity to work in separate groups in class to discuss the Rosa Parks Montgomery Bus Boycott in more detail. We reviewed documents that covered the boycott event as well as other documents leading up to the event. These documents included the police arrest warrant, seating chart of the bus, a letter to the Mayor of Montgomery, and an insert of a history textbook passage. The class were also allowed to review the letter to the Mayor of Montgomery through the eyes of students, teachers, and as a historian.
It was also interesting to learn information concerning the bus boycott that my school did not provide such as the planning of the boycott as early as May 1954. I was under the impression that the boycott all started with Rosa Parks and the bus situation in December 1955. It was also mentioned that other towns had also gone through similar situations that Montgomery was going through concerning their buses.
Thank you, class, for reading my post,
Milton