To mention about Rosa Parks's longevity comprehensively, you have to look at her life chronologically. She lived from February 4, 1913, to October 24, 2005. Her parents were James McCauley (1886-1962) and Leona Edwards (1888-1979). Rosa Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama. Her father was a stonemason and carpenter, and her mother was a teacher. Her maternal grandmother was the daughter of a biracial slave. Rosa's parents separated, and her father moved north looking for work in 1915. Rosa and her mother lived with her maternal grandparents on their farm in Pine Level, Alabama. The family was very religious, so they attended the African Methodist Episcopal Church constantly. On August 20, 1915, Rosa's brother, Sylvester James McCauley, was born to James and Leona McCauley at Pine Level, Alabama. She or Rosa Parks started elementary school in Pine Level in 1918. Her mother also taught her about educational subjects as her mother was a former rural schoolteacher. Rosa's father visited her, and he would not see her again until after her marriage. Rosa Parks always believed in self-defense since her youth. By 1920, Rosa was threatened by a white boy in the street. She immediately picked up a brick and dared him to use violence. By 1924, Rosa Parks and her family moved to Montgomery, Alabama. She attended Miss White's Montgomery Industrial School for Girls. The school was burned down twice by white racists. Rosa was bullied frequently by white children, but she always stood up for herself. Rosa Parks in 1929 attended Alabama State Teachers College but had to drop out to take for her sick grandmother and mother. By the Spring of 1941, she was working as a housekeeper when a white neighbor of the family (that Rosa was working for) tried to rape her. In 1931, Rosa Parks met Raymond Parks, a barber working in Montgomery. Raymond Parks was also active in the Scottsboro Boys's Defense. He proposed to her on their second date.
On March 25, 1931, Raymond Parks took food to the jail where nine black young people (aged 12 to 19 years old) were falsely accused of raping two white women. Despite one of the victims later testifying she made the story up, 8 of the boys were found guilty. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) became involved in the case. It took many retrials and appeals over 15 years before they were all released from prison. On December 18, 1932, Rosa Parks married Raymond Parks at Pine Level, Alabama. In 1933, Rosa Parks returned to school and earned her high school diploma. She had great qualifications, but she struggled to find work. She resorted to working in a number of part-time jobs. By 1943, Rosa Parks's brother, Sylvester, enlisted in the army. Rosa Parks in 1943 boarded a bus driven by James F. Blake. After she sat down, the driver told her to get off the bus and enter by the back door. When she got off the bus, he closed the doors and drove off without her. She made a mental note to never use a bus driven by Blake again.
Rosa Parks joined the Montgomery NAACP in December 1943 and soon became the branch Secretary. In September 1944, Mrs. Recy Taylor was defended by Rosa Parks. Parks was sent by the Montgomery NAACP to investigate the gang rape of Mrs. Recy Taylor, a black mother, by six racist white men. Despite one of the men confessing, the authorities refused to prosecute. She launched a letter-writing campaign to press the Governor of Alabama to intervene. Recy Taylor was a black woman who deserved her rights to be respected. By September 1944, Rosa Parks founded the Committee for Equal Justice to help black women who were subjected to interracial sexual abuse and rape. In 1945, Rosa Parks took a position at Maxwell Air Force Base. The base was a federal organization and racial segregation was not allowed. Being able to freely interact with white people for the first time made a great impression on Rosa Parks. In that same year, Rosa Parks was the office manager for E. D. Nixon, the President of the Montgomery NAACP. She attended a progressive leadership training program in 1946 at Tennessee. This program was slandered as Communists by racists and far-right anti-Communist extremists. In 1947, E.D. Nixon was the State President of the Alabama NAACP. Rosa Parks continued to work as his secretary. By 1949, Rosa Parks restarted the Montgomery NAACP Youth Council. May 17, 1954, was the date when Chief Justice Earl Warren spoke in favor of the Brown v. Board of Education case that banned public school segregation as being unequal and against the 14th Amendment. In 1955, Rosa Parks attended the educational course for activism in workers' rights and racial equality at the Highlander Folk School in Monteagle, Tennessee (which was slandered by white racists and far-right people as Communist). In March 1955, a 15th year old black school girl Claudette Colvin refused to give up her bus seat to a white woman and was arrested. Her case was not taken up by Montgomery black leaders due to the fact that she was an unmarried minor and pregnant. Society was much more conservative back then. Despite the court ruling in Brown v Board of Education that all state schools should move to integration; many schools defied the ruling.
On August 26, 1955, Dr. Martin Luther King became a member of the executive committee of the Montgomery National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). On August 28th, 1955, Emmett Till (being 14 years old) was brutally murdered by white racists. His mother insisted on a public funeral with an open casket to expose the brutality of his murderers and the extent of racism in the United States. On November 27th, 1955, Rosa Parks attended a meeting at Dexter Avenue Baptist church. Speaker T. R. M. Howard told the audience that the two men accused of the murder of Emmett Till had been acquitted. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks's life would be changed forever. Rosa Parks boarded a bus and sat in the first row of the ‘blacks’ section of the bus. She had not noticed that the bus driver was James Blake, the driver that had driven off without her in 1943. After a number of white people got on the bus the bus driver insisted that four black passengers including Parks should stand so that white passengers could sit down. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat and Blake called the police. She was arrested and charged with violation of the Montgomery City Code. On December 2, 1955, E D Nixon, president of the Montgomery NAACP decided to use Parks’ arrest as a test case to challenge segregation on the buses. Martin Luther King was chosen to lead the boycott. Despite his reluctance to take up the challenge, King was persuaded to lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott. It was agreed that all black people would boycott the buses from Monday 5th December. After a mass meeting at Martin Luther King’s church, it was decided that the boycott would go ahead on December 5, 1955. It is important to note that unsung black women and black men were leaders in the Montgomery Bus Boycott movement too. Black taxi drivers carried black passengers for the price of a bus ticket, others shared cars, and many made their journeys on foot. Rosa Parks was found guilty of failing to obey the bus driver's request and fined $14 on December 5, 1955. By December 8, 1955, Montgomery officials issued an order that any taxi drivers charging less than 45 cents would be fined.
In 1956, lost her job in a department store. Dr. King was arrested and put in jail for leading the continuing boycott of the city buses on January 26, 1956. On January 30, 1956, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s house was firebombed. His wife and daughter were not hurt. Many want retaliation against the racists, but Dr. King convinces them to not respond in violence. By June 5th, 1956, the case of Browder v Gayle, which challenged the bus segregation laws, decided that bus segregation was unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment. The Montgomery city council immediately appealed the decision. The appeal against the decision in Browder v Gayle was held. The city lost and the original decision was upheld (on November 13th, 1956). In 1957, ROsa Parks had more death threats. She was unable to find work, so Rosa and Raymond Parks moved to Hampton, Virginia. By September 9, 1957, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act 1957 into law. The Act made it illegal for anyone to be prevented from voting. It was intended to outlaw the Jim Crow Laws that allowed state and local laws to impose discriminatory sanctions on black Americans but in practice, it had little effect. By late 1957, Rosa and Raymond Parks moved to Detroit, Michigan. Racism existed in the North and Midwest, so Rosa Parks was active in the struggles for equality in Chicago and Detroit.
One very important late cousin of mine was Walter Lee Trice of Scotland Neck, North Carolina. He lived from 1956 to 2017. He was nicknamed Pete and born on October 29, 1956, to Gladys and the late Collins Trice Sr. in Palmyra, North Carolina. He was the 5th of six children. He accepted the faith of Jesus Christ, was baptized, and attended church, Sunday School, and Bible class. He enjoyed spiritual activities and talking to fellow human beings. He was educated in the Halifax Public school system. Walter Lee Trice enjoyed operating the visual media equipment, especially the movie projector. His sister is Virginia Dell Trice, who was born on July 12, 1950. Later, she lives in Detroit, Michigan with her husband John Henry Grice (b. 1946). Their children are Melvin Anthony Grice (b. 1968) and Veronique Darcel Harris Grice (b. 1969). There are more interesting facts about my distant paternal 3rd cousin Veronique Darcel Grice. She is a singer and songwriter. She is a friend to the singer Nina Simone Neal. Veronique's brother Melvin Anthony Grice is married to Carrie Lorrise Rhoades (b. 1969). Melvin Anthony Grice is a religious man who has lived across America including in Anchorage, Alaska. Melvin Grice is the Youth Pastor and Administrator at New Season Christian Center, based in Anchorage, Alaska. He has made gospel music too.
The story of Damar Hamlin represents the importance of learning about cardiac arrest. He played for the Buffalo Bills as a safety. He had a cardiac arrest in early January 2023, and medical experts used CPR to save his life. Many people were praying and scared for his life. Also, a Cincinnati hospital worked hard to save his life. His family was with him at every step. Also, his charity drive received a massive spike in donations. Hamlin's recovery experience makes football insignificant as life is bigger than a sport. Hamlin can speak, write, and sent a message about the advocacy of love and togetherness. Before the cardiac arrest, Hamlin made a mark as a philanthropist who helped countless lives across America. Also, the sad story of a 16-year-old teenage girl Ashari Hughes should be known too. She died of a cardiac arrest in south Las Valley recently. She loved football. Registered nurse Aphelia Phifer-Hill rushed on the field to perform CPR on Ashari, who was her daughter's teammate in flag football.
People want to know what an ethical omnivore is. What is it? An ethical omnivore is a person who believes that human beings can eat meat, fish, animal products, etc., and take a consideration to take care of the environment at the same time. During the earliest times of human history, artifacts and pictures describe human beings eating plants and human beings eating various types of meat too. The nutrients of Vitamin B12, DHA (an essential omega 3 fatty acids), heme iron, vitamin D, and creatine are very important substances that human beings acquire all of the time.
One person who lived a long life was my late distant maternal 2nd cousin Eunice Virginia Wiggins of Suffolk, Virginia. She lived to be 91 years old and passed away in 2017. She transitioned on Centerbrooke Lane, Suffolk, Virginia. She passed away on Thursday, July 13, 2017, at Sentara Hospice House in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She was the daughter of the late Benjamin and Rosa Wiggins. We share the same ancestor as Millie Woodson Turner. Eunice was preceded in death by her son, Ronald. Thomas Sr., and her two brothers of Casper L. Wiggins and William H. Wiggins. Eunice Virginia Wiggins earned her B.S. Degree from Elizabeth City State University and Master of Arts Degree from New York University in Early Childhood. She attended College of William and Mary and Old Dominion University. She retired in 1988 after 37 years of being an elementary school teacher. She worked in the school systems of Southampton County, Prince William County, and Suffolk Public Schools. She was a member of the Canaan Baptist Church where was in the J.E. Arrington Choir, Senior and Gospel Choir, teacher of the 6th Bible class, Pastor's Aid, Home mission, Missionary Circle, Mothers Board Ministry, Women's Ministry, and Assistant Church Clerk for over 30 years. She was part of the NAACP and other organizations Her daughters are Barbara J. Gates (Lester) of Portsmouth, Virginia, and Sheila R. Williams (Frank) of Suffolk, Virginia. She has 11 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren. Her daughter-in-law is Barbara Thomas of Suffolk. Her friend is Ernestine Langston of Suffolk. Her daughter-in-law Dianne Thomas is from Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and her son-in-law Norman H. Wilson is from Blackwood, New Jersey. Eunice's parents are Benjamin Wiggins (1896-1957) and Rosa Darden (1901-1992). Her grandparents are John Henry Wiggins (b. 1853) and Corelia (Candy) Turner (who was my 3rd great-aunt who lived from 1860-1934). Cordelia Turner's parents are my 4th great-grandparents Morefield Hurst Turner (1827-1918) and Milly Woodson Bozeman (1830-1910).
Culturally, there are tons of prominent people born in the city of San Diego. The actress Nakia Burrise was born in San Diego. When I was a teenager, I saw her on Power Rangers Zeo as the Yellow Zeo Ranger. She was the first Yellow Turbo Ranger on Power Rangers Turbo from 1996 to 1997. She continues to be on TV shows and movies for years. The actress Mayim Bialik was born in San Diego. She was on the shows of Blossom and The Big Bang Theory. Nick Cannon is the famous actor, rapper, and TV host from San Diego. Former professional football player Terrell Davis, Cameron Diaz, Robert Duvall, Dan Fouts, singer Frankie J, legendary baseball player Tony Gwynn (including his son Tony Gwynn Jr.), and Tony Hawk were all born in San Diego.
By Timothy
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