December

At the beginning of each month at morning announcements I like to rattle off all the various proclamations that have been passed denoting the importance of the upcoming month. Alas, December is a bit barren. In the US, December is Safe Toys and Gifts Month, Bingo’s Birthday Month, and not much else. I guess the holidays crowded out the usual official proclamations this month.  December 1, however, is a pretty important anniversary day: in 1955 Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery Alabama for refusing to give up her seat and move to the back of a bus. This triggered a yearlong boycott of the city bus system that led to changes that ended racial segregation on city buses throughout the south. Far from being an isolated act of courage, though it certainly was that, Rosa Parks had the backing of the civil rights movement, members of which planned the non-violent action that resulted in changed laws. Would that others in conflict around the world follow the examples of Gandhi, King, and Parks... change might have come decades ago.