Book Review: Rosa Parks Beyond the Bus-Life, Lessons and Leadership by H.H. Leonards

Having read and reviewed the Rosa Parks’ the Douglas Brinkley biography Rosa Parks-A Life several years ago, I thought I knew so much about the civil rights icon. But H. H. Leonards knew Rosa Parks on a very personal level, and she discusses their friendship in her inspiring and candid book Rosa Parks Beyond the Bus: Life, Lessons and Leadership.

Leonards made Rosa Parks acquaintance shortly after Parks was brutally attacked in her Detroit home during a robbery. Parks wasn’t only brutally attacked, she was also raped and beaten so fiercely, her pacemaker dislodged. Knowing Parks didn’t feel safe, president of the Beverly Hills branch of the NAACP, Brother Willis Edwards, reached out to H. H. Leonards who owns The Mansion in Washington D.C. Brother Willis Edwards knew Parks would feel much more secure at the Mansion and Leonards was happy to share her place with the Civil Rights icon. Little did she know that she would strike up a wonderful friendship with Parks, a friendship that continues to inspire her to this day.

Leonards soon learned Rosa Parks was so much more than the lady who wouldn’t give up her bus seat to a white passenger back on December, 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama. Parks had long been active in the Civil Rights movement. Parks was very open in sharing her life story with Leonards, her difficult childhood, her marriage to Raymond Parks, her activism, and the struggles and triumphs she experienced. Throughout everything, Parks remained hopeful and committed to her African Methodist Episcopal faith. In fact, Parks and Leonard’s deep-abiding faith (she’s a Roman Catholic) was a touchstone for both of them.

Not only was Parks devoted the rights of black people, she was also very devoted to the rights of women. Long before the #MeToo movement, Parks was fighting for the legal and human rights of rape and sexual assault victims in the 1940s! Parks was definitely a pioneer when it comes to the concept of feminism, though she may have never called herself a feminist.

Parks never had children, but she was often called Mother Parks. Children were very drawn to Mother Parks. She treated them with kindness and respect, and encouraged them to be the very best.

So many people were drawn to Rosa Parks, both famous luminaries and everyday people. She was kind and open with every person she met. And there is no doubt, meeting Rosa Parks was a singular experience, one to be remembered and cherished for a very long time. Despite, her accomplishments, Parks never put on airs or acted like she was more important than anybody else. In fact, she went out of her way to make others feel special.

I thoroughly enjoyed Beyond the Bus, and gained so much about learning more about Rosa Parks. Yes, Beyond the Bus is a memoir, but it is also a primer on living one’s life with purpose, grace, empathy, and dedication to the greater good of society.

Book Review: Rosa Parks-A Life by Douglas Brinkley

On December 1^st, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama a black seamstress named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in to a white patron and was arrested. What seemed like a small act by a quiet, unassuming woman who just wanted to sit down and relax after a long day of work, inspired a year-long boycott of Montgomery’s bus system. The boycott lead to the rise of the civil rights movement, many changes to laws and the Jim Crow-era of the South and the activism of various civil rights icons like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And it was all due to an unassuming little seamstress.

Sure, Rosa Parks was unassuming and she did work as a seamstress. But she was so much more, which historian and author Douglas Brinkley writes about in his biography of Mrs. Parks called Rosa Parks: A Life.

Rosa McCauley was born on February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. Her mother, Leona, was a school teacher, and her father, James, was a carpenter. They separated when Rosa was a toddler. A smart, studious and quiet girl, Rosa excelled in school and studied at Alabama State College for Negroes for a while. But do to family issues, she had to drop out. She soon met and married Raymond Parks, who worked as a barber.

To those who didn’t fully know Ms. Parks, it would seem she would be the type to live a low-key life. She was not to make a fuss, and December 1^st, 1955 was just anomaly for this shy woman.

But we would be wrong. Ms. Parks spent a majority of her adulthood involved in civil rights and other social causes. She fought for her right to register to vote, finally succeeding in 1943. She worked as a secretary for the NAACP. After facing death threats in Alabama, she and her husband moved north to Detroit where she continued her involvement in the civil rights movement. She networked with other notable figures in the movement including Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Congressman John Conyers, working as Representative Congressman’s Detroit office. Her comrades were involved in all races, creeds, genders and included people of all ages. Brinkley’s books exhaustively researches all the notable hard work and achievements Ms. Parks did on behalf of the civil rights movement, and I found myself in more in awe of this amazing woman.

Mrs. Parks later wrote her autobiography and a book inspirational ideas and essays called Quiet Strength. She also got involved in women’s causes and acted as a mentor to young people, many of them finding her a truly inspirational force for them to also make positive changes in their lives and the lives around them.

A life-long devoted Christian, Mrs. Parks was also interested in Buddhism and meditation.

Mrs. Parks also chronicled her life and activism in her autobiography and wrote a book of inspirational ideas and essays called Quiet Strength. And throughout her life she received countless awards for her tireless work on behalf of the civil rights movement and other accomplishments.

Rosa Parks: A Life was published before she died in 2005. But it truly conveys how courageous, hard-working and generous she was in a very turbulent time. I’ve long admired Mrs. Parks and Mr. Brinkley’s slim, yet incredibly thorough and illuminating biography is one very enlightening read that should be a must-read for everyone committed to justice for all.