Rosa Parks

Hello.
This is Aoyagi.

The other day, I was sitting on the train when an old man got on.

I offered him my seat, saying, "Please," but he was very hesitant, saying, "I'm getting off at the next station."

I stood up, and he didn't sit down either, so we both stood for a few seconds.

Then, in that brief moment, another person wearing headphones sat in the seat, which was quite an unusual incident. (lol)





Now to the main topic.
This week's column is about Rosa Parks.

I already knew her name from the Outkast song.

However, her story came up in two books I read recently, one after another, and since I didn't know much about her, I decided to look her up again.


Rosa Parks was a woman who, in 1955, was asked to give up her seat to a white person on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, refused, and was arrested.

This incident became a major catalyst for the civil rights movement that followed.


At that time, racial discrimination was even more explicit than it is today.

Not just racial discrimination, but all discrimination in the world is certainly not good, and I hope it disappears.


Or rather, I think it would be a better world if people could simply say, "That's not right, is it?" when something is clearly wrong.

We should approach things with politeness and respect in a flat manner, and sometimes it might be necessary to offer a word of caution, but in the end, I really want to aim for "UNITY."


As an aside, Outkast used her name in their song "Rosa Parks" out of respect, but later, Rosa Parks' side reportedly sued them for using her name without permission.





HIPHOP may have a "bad boy" image in general society, but its essence is different, and it's a culture where you can also learn about social conditions like these.

I listened to Outkast after a long time, and it's still the best!