The Importance Of Bias In Rosa Parks
Being Bias, We All Do It. Many writers like to put time and thought into their work. Putting in all their own thoughts can sometimes not be a good thing. While I was reading several articles about Rosa Parks I have noticed that in every article that I read have some sort of bias in them. Throughout the articles, the authors show several points of bias within their background, point of view, and purpose. The articles I have chosen to read are about Rosa Parks, who was known by many people throughout the United States for her quiet act of defiance that set off a social revolution. Many people today remember Rosa Parks as the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement”. In December 1955, 42-year-old Rosa Parks got onto a bus that was full of people. When she and four other African American passengers were told to get out of their seats and give them to oncoming white passengers, Rosa refused. The bus driver then had no other choice, but to call the police. At that point, Rosa Parks would be arrested for violating the laws of segregation, known as “Jim Crow laws.” This would later anger the local members of the NAACP (National
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Association for the Advancement of Colored People) who would then start a boycott of the Montgomery bus system. The first article I read was found on the NARA (National Archives and Records Administration) website. The author of this article wrote this from the third person point of view and made it clear that they were siding with Rosa Parks in their article. Within the article they are making it seem as if they are siding with Rosa Parks by not only referring to her as an African American woman rather than a black woman, but also because they made everything that she did sound like it was the right thing to do. The purpose of this article was to inform us that not only did Rosa Parks do this for herself, but also the rest of the African Americans in the United States at this time. Chris Trueman wrote the next article that I have chosen, which I found on the History Learning Site website, on the Rosa Parks bus incident. This article was written in the third person point of view. The author made it seem as if they were not supporting Rosa Parks in this article. The bias in this article really shows when they refer to the African Americans as black Americans. This document makes it seem as if what Rosa did was only for her own good, saying that she only refused to give up her seat because she “reached the end of her patience after a hard day’s work and refused to leave her seat on the bus, preferring to rest her feet.”(Trueman) Clearly that is not what her intensions were. This document was written to make Rosa Parks seem like she was only doing this for her own good. Making it seem like she didn’t want to move because she was “tired”, which in other articles it states she was doing it to for a reason other than she was tired. The last article that I have chosen was found on a website called The Henry Ford.
The Henry Ford is not only just a website, but also it has many history attractions and much more. This article written by the author, who was not mentioned, seemed to be written in the third person format. It also clear that the author seems to believe that what the white Americans did at that time was right. At the beginning of the article, you can tell that the author is siding with the white Americans. It becomes clear when he always refers to the African Americans as black citizens or when he tries to make it seem as if Rosa Parks already planned this incident. The author gave no supporting evidence that this bus incident and boycott were all some sort of plan. It was clear he sided with the white Americans at this time and during this incident. The
purpose
of this article was to analyze all the things leading up to the bus incident and what it caused Rosa Parks later. In conclusion, everyone is biased. No matter what is being written about, everyone is going to write whatever he or she believes is true from what they have heard. It may not be easy to recognize, but once you find it, it is clear throughout the rest of the piece. Throughout every single one of the articles I have read, there has been little bias in some and a lot of bias in others.
Work Cited
Ford, Henry. “The Story Behind the Bus.” Rosa Parks Bus – The Story Behind the Bus. 2002. Google. Web. 06 April 2013. <http://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/rosaparks/story.asp>.
“Teaching With Documents: An Act of Courage, The Arrest Records of Rosa Parks.” An Act of Courage, The Arrest Records of Rosa Parks. National Archives and Records Administration. Web. 05 April 2013. <http://www.archives.gov/education//lessons/rosa- parks/>.
Trueman, Chris. “Montgomery Bus Boycott.” Montgomery Bus Boycott. History Learning Site, Google. 06 April 2013. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/montgomery_bus_boycott.htm>.
Association for the Advancement of Colored People) who would then start a boycott of the Montgomery bus system. The first article I read was found on the NARA (National Archives and Records Administration) website. The author of this article wrote this from the third person point of view and made it clear that they were siding with Rosa Parks in their article. Within the article they are making it seem as if they are siding with Rosa Parks by not only referring to her as an African American woman rather than a black woman, but also because they made everything that she did sound like it was the right thing to do. The purpose of this article was to inform us that not only did Rosa Parks do this for herself, but also the rest of the African Americans in the United States at this time. Chris Trueman wrote the next article that I have chosen, which I found on the History Learning Site website, on the Rosa Parks bus incident. This article was written in the third person point of view. The author made it seem as if they were not supporting Rosa Parks in this article. The bias in this article really shows when they refer to the African Americans as black Americans. This document makes it seem as if what Rosa did was only for her own good, saying that she only refused to give up her seat because she “reached the end of her patience after a hard day’s work and refused to leave her seat on the bus, preferring to rest her feet.”(Trueman) Clearly that is not what her intensions were. This document was written to make Rosa Parks seem like she was only doing this for her own good. Making it seem like she didn’t want to move because she was “tired”, which in other articles it states she was doing it to for a reason other than she was tired. The last article that I have chosen was found on a website called The Henry Ford.
The Henry Ford is not only just a website, but also it has many history attractions and much more. This article written by the author, who was not mentioned, seemed to be written in the third person format. It also clear that the author seems to believe that what the white Americans did at that time was right. At the beginning of the article, you can tell that the author is siding with the white Americans. It becomes clear when he always refers to the African Americans as black citizens or when he tries to make it seem as if Rosa Parks already planned this incident. The author gave no supporting evidence that this bus incident and boycott were all some sort of plan. It was clear he sided with the white Americans at this time and during this incident. The
purpose
of this article was to analyze all the things leading up to the bus incident and what it caused Rosa Parks later. In conclusion, everyone is biased. No matter what is being written about, everyone is going to write whatever he or she believes is true from what they have heard. It may not be easy to recognize, but once you find it, it is clear throughout the rest of the piece. Throughout every single one of the articles I have read, there has been little bias in some and a lot of bias in others.
Work Cited
Ford, Henry. “The Story Behind the Bus.” Rosa Parks Bus – The Story Behind the Bus. 2002. Google. Web. 06 April 2013. <http://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/rosaparks/story.asp>.
“Teaching With Documents: An Act of Courage, The Arrest Records of Rosa Parks.” An Act of Courage, The Arrest Records of Rosa Parks. National Archives and Records Administration. Web. 05 April 2013. <http://www.archives.gov/education//lessons/rosa- parks/>.
Trueman, Chris. “Montgomery Bus Boycott.” Montgomery Bus Boycott. History Learning Site, Google. 06 April 2013. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/montgomery_bus_boycott.htm>.