The Oregon Militants Are Nothing Like Our Auntie Rosa Parks

As a niece of Rosa Parks and co-author of the book Our Auntie Rosa, we are relieved Ammon Bundy’s reference appears to have just been a hoax. Still, the below is a reminder why comparisons to Rosa Parks may be fashionable for some causes but not factual.

1. Auntie Rosa did not deny anyone access to a bus seat, a lunch counter or any public entity. Her sacrifice was made to increase access to public resources by others. These men have rendered a public-land trust off limits.
2. Auntie Rosa was willing to go to jail for her beliefs. These men hide behind guns.
3. Auntie Rosa wanted to ensure the constitutional rights of all Americans. These men want public land turned over for private uses.
4. Auntie Rosa never threatened law enforcement. She didn’t make statements like, “Don’t point guns at us and we won’t point guns back.”
5. Auntie Rosa supported boycotts, protests, and civil disobedience — but she never vandalized property or took what didn’t belong to her.
6. Auntie Rosa put people first. She never acted in any way that could endanger the lives of those she fought for.
7. Auntie Rosa helped change the nation’s laws by pointing out our failings to abide by our own stated ideals.
8. Auntie Rosa derived her moral passion from a deeply held faith in God, which infused her statements and actions.
9. Auntie Rosa walked hand in hand with men and women of all races and religions.
10. Auntie Rosa didn’t carry a weapon. She didn’t need to. Her love for truth and justice summoned all the bravery she required.

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Sheila McCauley Keys is the seventh niece of civil rights heroine Rosa Parks. Keys has become an active voice in efforts to preserve her aunt’s legacy. Contributions to OUR AUNTIE ROSA are made by the family of Rosa Parks, which includes the children and grandchildren of Sylvester and Daisy McCauley, along with their families.

Eddie B. Allen Jr. is an award-winning reporter and freelance journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Reuters, The Associated Press, BET.com, and the Detroit Free Press. Allen was a Rosa Parks Scholarship recipient at age seventeen, and he later covered Mrs. Parks’ nationally televised funeral as well as various aspects of the freedom struggle that carries her footprint.