The National Black Cultural Information Trust’s TikTok Cultural Education program was created to clarify popular myths surrounding Black history and historical figures. The purpose of the series is to highlight how easily misinformation becomes normalized and to provide educational information and cultural clarity surrounding popularized misinformation embedded in many African American historical discussions.
Part III of our “Fake Black History that Way Too Many People Believe” series discusses popular myths surrounding the lives of civil rights activists Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin.
@jamaiwuyor The myths surrounding #rosaparks and #claudettecolvin #blackhistory #blackamericans #africanamericans #civilrightsmovement #blacktiktok #fyp
Transcript:
Fake black history that way too many people believe part three, the Rosa Parks edition.
Number one: Many people believe that Rosa Parks was tired and worn out after a long day’s work and that story is completely false. She said in her autobiography that she was not physically tired at all, she was just “tired of giving in.”
Number two: Many people believe that Rosa Parks’ civil disobedience was planned and that is false. She actually wasn’t paying attention when she got on the bus. She had had a negative encounter with that same bus driver before and said if she had noticed that it was the same bus driver, she wouldn’t have even gotten on the bus. The photographs that we see of her getting fingerprinted and being on the bus were taken after the initial arrest.
Number three: Many people believe that Rosa Parks was just a seamstress, but that is also not true. She was a local longtime community activist and a local NAACP secretary.
Number four: Rosa Parks is not the first black woman to refuse to give up her seat on the bus. Multiple black women did this before her, including 15 year old Claudette Colvin, also of Montgomery, Alabama. Colvin was a part of the NAACP Youth Justice League and was mentored in part by Rosa Parks herself and even slept at her house sometimes. Some people believe that Colvin did not receive the same level of community support because she was a pregnant teenager, however Colvin said that this is false. At the time of her arrest she was not pregnant, she became pregnant later on. Some community leaders considered Colvin a wild card and distanced themselves from her before her pregnancy. They just used her pregnancy as further confirmation. Colvin believes that colorism also played a role, but she still thinks that Rosa Parks was best to lead the movement. Ultimately, the legacies of both women are very important, so let’s just make sure that we get it right.
Sources:
Rosa Parks: My Story by Rosa Parks
The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks by Jeanne Theoharis
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose
Rosa Parks Autobiography: Claudette Colvin https://rosaparksbiography.org/bio/claudette-colvin/