Rosa Parks to lie in state in Capitol

Congress gave final approval Friday to a resolution to allow the public to pay respects to Rosa Parks in the U.S. Capitol building Sunday and Monday - a unique honor for a private citizen.

When I was about 4 years old (1955) we lived in Montgomery, Alabama while my father attended the US Air Force War College. We lived in a rented house in downtown Montgomery. It's one of my earliest memories. There was a big, wide front porch, and a scary, scary whole house fan on the 3rd floor (where my oldest sister's bedroom was). That fan was so huge I felt it would suck me in! I remember several things about living in Montgomery for that short period of time:
• I got a cracker smeared in my face at the playground for drinking from the “wrong” water fountain (the “colored” one)
• I remember my father talking about civil rights, and seeing KKK rallies either on TV or on our block, I am not sure
• Our maid, telling my father that she would walk home rather than accept a ride, because it was important that she walk and not ride the bus

Background on this is important. My father, a USAF Chaplain and veteran of WW II, was a missionary in the Philippines from 1949 to 1952 (and was a USAF reservist). He returned to active duty during the Korean War, and we were transferred to Japan when I was less than 2. I spent most of my time in the car of maids, who did not speak English, and who certainly did not look like me. My first language was Japanese. Obviously from a very young age I thought all people were the same inside, some just looked different on the outside. To this day I do not know why I remember the bus boycotts so vividly, but I do. I like to think it is because I had already experienced the fact that a person’s outward appearance has nothing to do with what they can and cannot do, achieve, or aspire to be.

I was also fortunate to have a father who marched with Martin Luther King, who heard King’s “I have a dream” speech in person, and who worked for civil rights, freedom of expression, and the downtrodden all his life. I helped him with an equal housing initiative in Allentown, Pa while I was in high school.

Rosa Parks, took a seat so my father could stand up, so I could stand up, so my children could stand up, so we could all stand up for the promotion of equal rights in this country.

So, over the next 2 weeks or so, during early voting this week, or on Nov. 8th, remember Rosa Parks and vote NO on proposition 2. In doing so, we will be violating the civil rights of many people.

Proposition 2: "The constitutional amendment providing that marriage in this state consists only of the union of one man and one woman and prohibiting this state or a political subdivision of this state from creating or recognizing any legal status identical or similar to marriage."