Knowledge is Power: Learning from Rosa Parks to Change the Present

“Knowledge is Power!” exclaimed U.S. civil rights activists throughout the 1960s and 1970s. To acquire knowledge is to empower oneself and effectuate systemic change.  In April of this year, I had the pleasure of interviewing esteemed author Paul Loeb. Loeb has authored the books “Soul of A Citizen” and “The Impossible Will Take Awhile”. I would like to share the great insight that Loeb shed concerning how historical awareness is an essential part of empowering social movements and creating change.

In our interview, Loeb highlighted that Americans aren’t typically taught how people have brought about change. In an essay that he wrote, The Real Rosa Parks, Loeb discusses the diligent efforts of Rosa Parks and her allies before she decided not to forfeit her seat on a Montgomery Bus in 1955. Often, people look at movers such as Rosa Parks and misconstrue the details surrounding their success. A common misconception exists that Rosa Parks was merely tired on the day of December 1, 1955. This idea attempts to explain the remarkable resistance of Rosa Parks who is otherwise known as the mother of the Civil Rights Movement. Indeed, Rosa Parks was tired on that December day but not weary with a physical fatigue as some would suggest. The weight on Rosa Park’s shoulders was that of years of watching blacks be accused, abused, and refused the civil rights promised by the Declaration of Independence. Prior to December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was involved in the National Association For the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for ten years. She trained alongside Civil Rights activists such as Dr. Martin Luther King and heavily studied peaceful resistance methods modeled after Mohandas Ghandi. Rosa Parks’ actions were not impulsive or the result of some wanton physical need for rest. She was prepared to begin a peaceful movement of non-violence. Loeb detail’s Rosa Parks Civil Rights commitment in the years before her legendary decision to take a stand–or to have a seat rather. Rosa Parks was an integral part of the Civil Rights community. Without her community, the response and success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott would not have reached the heights that it did.

The Civil Rights era of U.S. history lasted from 1955-1968. In essence, it took 13 years for legislators and politicians to acknowledge the African-American as one of the men created equal and entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Civil Rights era is rich with examples of individual citizens who recognized their ability to change the present and future through various methods of resistance. Throughout the Civil Rights movement, players included black nationalists such as Malcolm X, Huey P. Newton, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and even black fraternal and sorority organizations. These organizations expanded the limits of their being, ideas, and fears in order to bring about revival. One can argue that the Civil Rights era rustled the American spirit. The Civil Rights era models unity amongst individuals with distinct personal philosophies who often cast those distinctions aside, in order to reach a common goal.

I asked Loeb what he would suggest to persons who see the need for change in their society but may not know how to begin the process. Loeb responded that it requires a leap of faith for change to come about. A person seeking to make change must identify a strategy, it’s allies, obstacles, what stories they possess, and how they can act accordingly. For Loeb, it is now essential that person tarry for “accidental change”. Loeb noted that when a group asks for change, members of that group may not be aware of who the instrument of change may be. Numerous examples of social movements include examples of individuals who launched an effort that was initially unsuccessful and subsequently became successful when other people later joined the shared initiative.

I asked Loeb what people could learn from these examples in history of “false starts”. He said that responsibility rests on the ordinary “grassroots citizens”. During the presidential campaign of Barack Obama, the U.S. saw a revived group of these grassroots citizens. Ordinary Americans who were never political before became involved in a political movement. The U.S. was filled with eager citizens who went knocking on doors, launching phone calls, and effectuating a climate of change. However, since the election, the American people have not persisted in this grassroots effort. I inquired of Loeb further regarding the role of grassroots citizens and the Obama administration. Here, Loeb and I agreed that U.S. citizens need to learn from their past. In studying history, the average American becomes acquainted with the foundations of this country and how the flow of change has occurred across time. Loeb encouraged: “Let’s learn from it.” In so doing, grassroots citizens will exercise power and practice the art of coming together. Loeb reminded me that without unity, we’ll never make change.

With a focus on current U.S policy both domestic and abroad, I asked Loeb what is required on behalf of the American people who want to spur a shift in “business as usual”. Loeb called for “an enormous grassroots push” from ordinary citizens in this challenge. Loeb added a profound statement during this segment of our interview. He said: “Don’t be bitter. Cynicism doesn’t create change.” Loeb was referencing the cynicism that has consumed a majority of the American public. There is a looming ambivalence that has crept into the American revolutionary spirit. This cynicism and ambivalence has left us crippled. For Loeb, “ordinary people taking a step and pushing the horizon lead to change.”

I asked Loeb some areas of immediate concern that require a concerted grassroots push for change. He identified the issue of global climate change, the status of climate refugees, and the need to rebuild a “just and sustainable economy”. Loeb suggests that Americans become more involved in manufacturing technology and the restructuring of U.S. Afghan policy. Loeb and I agreed that the U.S. needs to “turn away from the notion of the U.S. as a military power” as this attitude perpetuates the legacy of a world empire.

Discussing social and political change with Loeb was incredibly refreshing. Loeb’s unique understanding of activism as a result of grassroots organized efforts renews faith in the sleeping spirit that was witnessed during the 1960s. We have seen the LBGT movement become very involved to secure their marriage civil right.  Other progressive communities have moved away from protests, sit ins, rallies, and marches. I attribute this waning to a lack of historical knowledge with respect to the power ordinary citizens to create social change. Historically, social movements are a kaleidoscopic merger of average players who combine various forces against a stratified system. In the case of the Civil Rights Movement, Americans witnessed non-violent groups, student groups, and black nationalists that culminated in African-American civil liberties. Where is the spirit of change in our current administration? The effervescent Democrats who worked to get Obama in office have seemingly lost their fervor now that he has arrived. Loeb reminded me that sending emails and signing petitions is not sufficient in matters of political movement, we must organize and empower ourselves through the knowledge of our past.

Reprinted from Conducive Chronicle