December 1, 1955
During the PVSG challenge in 2013, one of our song prompts was “accidental hero.”
Inspired by Rita Dove’s poem, “Rosa,” I decided to break the song structure and worked through quatrains of Rosa Park’s fateful day in December.
I hope my turn of phrase in the song is clear; she isn’t painted as an accidental hero in verse four; rather the action of the fingerprinting cemented her deliberate role in the Civil Rights Movement of 1960s, a woman who trained at Highlander to take a role in civil rights.
Textbooks often misconstrue that Rosa Parks was tired when she refused to take a different seat; she was tired, tired of “giving in.”
Demo:
“December 1, 1955”
old look
passengers
third stop,
asking her
window seat,
lighting rod
better make it light
left them awed
forty-two,
in fifty-five;
chapter six,
$10 fine
police report,
fingerprint
hero made
by accident
midnight
clean flame
one phone call
reclaim
boycott
tenderfeet
sacrifice
take a seat
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