Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks

A Video and Viewer's Guide Review

By Barbara Gifford
Resource Development Assistant
Lifespan Faith Development, UUA

Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks is a compelling 40-minute video and Viewer's Guide produced by Teaching Tolerance , a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, and To Tell the Truth Pictures . Rosa Parks is hailed as the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement.” In 1955 she refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man—spurring the Montgomery bus boycott and ultimately leading to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling against racial segregation a year later.

This film is focused on the role of individuals in making social change in a democratic society. It brings alive the story of Rosa Parks “with first person accounts, stirring dramatizations and narration by young people.” Rosa Parks was a member of a vital civil rights community committed to nonviolent social change in the face of injustice and violence against blacks in Montgomery. Often sentimentally portrayed as a quiet, religious seamstress who wouldn't move from her seat on the bus because she was tired, she was in reality an experienced anti-segregation activist and youth group leader who was well trained for this “one amazing moment.” She wrote in her autobiography, My Story , “The only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”

The Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955–1956, was a success of black community organization and commitment. Black children and adults did not ride public buses for 381 days. They organized rides and they walked, some up to ten miles a day, to school and work. Despite violence against them—death threats, bombs, and a fatal beating—the community followed the path of nonviolence, bringing national attention to segregation.

The Viewer's Guide is a tool for engaging participants in examining:

• racial segregation in Alabama in the 1940s and 50s
• what makes an activist
• strategies for activism

The Viewer's Guide provides pre-viewing and post-viewing activities, including discussion ideas, role-play, primary sources, and handouts. The guide is written for middle elementary grades through high school, but could be used with intergenerational groups. The video and activities can be presented in a single meeting or in multiple sessions.

Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks earned an Emmy Award in 2005. It is available from Teaching Tolerance .