Driving through the interstate on the way to work is the personal time of my day. I-280 is beautiful in the early morning, you see the fleeting remnants of the hallowed Frisco fog being burned down by the sun in the back drop of the golden california hills. I am also usually tuned in to the local public radio station during this twenty minute drive - for my daily update on what is going on with the wide world. It is also a time for assimilation and contextualizing, as i listen to who is perpetuating what under the glaring Iraqi sun in another part of the planet. And catching up on the lunch menu in the San Francisco unified school district.
Today, amidst all this news of mindlessness, there was mention of a statute that had been passed without much ado. It is called the Rosa Parks act and it provides for pardon for all convicted of violating a law used to maintain or enforce racial segregation. Rosa Parks had been convicted decades ago of refusing to give up her seat on a bus reserved for whites and was a spark that ignited a whole generation of civil rights activists. My grasp of american history is weak, and a lot of you may have a lot more on this story - but this simple piece of news touched a chord. I came to work and started looking up a little more on the subject in the major networks, but alas - the story had been under the radar for most of the major media conglomerates.
It is significant to note that Rosa Parks passed away last year, and this act will be used to strike off her conviction record posthumously in some obscure record book in a dusty old room. It will not make a material difference to any of our lives as we start the summer weekend following this lazy friday, but it made my day a little more wondrous. To think that we do need to dwell on the past sometimes, to make amends whenever possible and an affirmation that symbolism is sometimes more etheral and sublime than the numbers in the latest tax codes that money dot com churns out in colourful graphics.
A line from the quixotic John Quincy Adams, Jr, pleading for the slaves of the Amistad, immortalized in the movie of the same name, came to mind - "we are - what we were" - he had said.
Whatever it takes.
Related Link http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/04/alabama-legislature-approves-pardons.php
