New Delhi: Almost a century after the abolition of slavery and six years before Barack Obama was born; Rosa Parks became an inspiration for thousands of black Americans across the US.
On December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama Parks, a civil right activist refused to give up her seat in a bus to a white man. Her simple act of protest galvanized America's civil rights revolution. What followed was a citywide boycott of the bus system by blacks that lasted more than a year.
The protest started by Rosa catapulted another Civil Rights hero, Martin Luther King, Jr. to national prominence.
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,” said Black Civil Right Activist, Martin Luther King Jr.
Just two years after this historic speech, in 1965, The National Voting Rights Act was passed, providing enfranchisement to African-Americans in the United States.
African Americans since then have seen many milestones and their voice has just grown stronger over the years.
- In 1972, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm became first black woman to vie for the Presidency
- 1984 & 1988 saw Reverend Jesse Jackson make a bid for presidency as an Independent candidate.
- In 1989 L Douglas Widler became the first black governor of a US state
- In 2001, Colin Powell became the first African American appointed as Secretary of State
- In 2005 Condoleezza Rice becames the first black woman to serve as secretary of state
And year 2008 saw Barack Obama become the African American President of the USA
"We have come so far", said Barack Obama.
Obama the man has now become Obama the symbol a symbol of progress, a symbol of change, a symbol of the African American evolution.
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