Rosa Parks

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2002

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Themes

Political Organizing

“Rosa Parks” argues that the Pullman Porters’ creation of the first all-Black labor union led to large-scale political organizing during the civil rights movement. The first words of the poem, “This is for the Pullman Porters who organized” (Line 1), introduce political organizing as an important theme of “Rosa Parks.”

These opening words are the first iteration of the poem’s refrain: “This is for the Pullman Porters who.” This refrain will be repeated with verbs other than "organize," yet most of the verbs Giovanni pairs with the refrain suggest political organizing in some way: The Pullman porters “helped Thurgood Marshall” (Lines 5), “whispered to the traveling men” (Line 10), “silently rejoiced” at the civil rights victory in Brown v. Board of Education (Line 14), “looked over” Emmett Till and “kept / him safe” on their train (Lines 24, 26-27), and also returned his body to his mother so she could have an open-casket funeral and show the world the horrible way in which Till was murdered.

Helping, spreading the word, rejoicing at important desegregation victories, looking out for community members, and showing the world the horrors of racially motivated killings are all important actions in the fight for civil rights for Black Americans, actions that activists and organizers repeated over and over throughout the civil rights movement.

Progress and Change

Organizers and activists involved in the civil rights movement achieved many hard-fought victories, including ending legalized segregation in the United States. Thus progress and change are important themes in “Rosa Parks.” These themes are expressed in the content of the poem, which explains how a precursor to the civil rights movement helped begin that movement, and how key figures in the movement, including Thurgood Marshall, Emmett Till’s mother, and Rosa Parks, helped create lasting change.

The themes of progress and change are also expressed in the form of the poem. “Rosa Parks” is organized by a refrain that shifts over the course of the poem. At first, the refrain changes slightly, incrementally. For example, “This is for the Pullman Porters who organized” (Line 1) becomes “[t]his is for the Pullman Porters who / helped (Lines 4-5), then “[t]his is for the Pullman Porters who / smiled and welcomed” (Lines 16-17). However, these gradual shifts in the refrain eventually become dramatic:

. . . And this is for all the mothers who cried. And this is

for all the people who said Never Again. And this is about Rosa

Parks whose feed were not so tired . . . (Lines 37-39)

This relentless repetition embodies the force and forward progress of the civil rights movement that Rosa Parks helped lead.

Repetition

The poem stresses that the only response to setbacks in progress is more forward action. It highlights this need for repeated effort by building repetition into its structure and form. In addition to the poem’s refrain, almost every important element in the poem is doubled. The poem mentions two important organizations: the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) and the NAACP, an important civil rights group. There are two modes of transportation important to the civil rights movement: trains and buses. The poem describes two instances of racially-motivated violence that happened in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education: the lynching described in a Gwendolyn Brooks poem and the murder of Emmett Till. Finally, there are two important women who helped drive the Civil Rights Movement forward: Emmett Till’s mother Mamie and Rosa Parks. These pairings, as well as the repeated refrain, emphasize that political organizing and social change require repeated action.