Race and power still go hand-in-hand today (just ask Kanye). Racial tension in the United States in the 1950s and '60s could be seen most strikingly in the power imbalance. Because African-Americans were not equal in the eyes of the law, they had less power than white Americans. This imbalance was an affront to human rights, and the Civil Rights movement was born out of the desire to eliminate the power imbalance and achieve equality for all human beings, regardless of race. "Rosa" very lightly and deftly touches on the imbalance and even shift in power that Parks's action sparked.
Questions About Power
- How can just sitting there, as Rosa Parks did, upset the balance of power?
- In the third stanza, we see Parks is getting her picture taken. What do you think being photographed has to do with power? Does it matter who is taking the photograph? Why or why not?
- What do the lines "How she stood up / when they bent down to retrieve / her purse" have to do with the balance (or imbalance) of power? Who do you think "they" might be?
Chew on This
In this poem, Rita Dove wanted to paint Rosa Parks as a person who, even though humble and quiet, was also extremely influential and powerful—no megaphones needed.
She sat down to stand up. Rosa Parks's refusal to stand up was her way of protesting laws and customs that gave white people power over black people, thus making them unequal.