Martin and Rosa

the Novel

Martin and Rosa
A Time of Destiny
by
Forest Hairston

Destiny, courage, and the will to resist racism touched Rosa Louise Parks. And forever, we people of every color will revel in her glory. Here in December 1955, she was sitting there proudly, and calmly refined, on a blunt bus ride in Montgomery, Alabama. It seemed but only a blight moment later that Rosa refused to relinquish her seat to a person of a whiter color. And so, she was unjustly arrested. But here, in a Southern place where Jim Crow was allowed to exist, Rosa Louise Parks had brushed her face across the face of Black History.

Martin Luther King was there as well. Here was a time when the echo of Black slaves in the cotton field called his name. It was here at a time, where the face who wore a darker color suffered the plight against civil rights. A place in time where bigotry was scattered waywardly across this land. It was there in Alabama where Rosa cried out the name Martin . . . Martin Luther King, Jr. And it was that moment when this Black man stepped up, and sternly defied the ill racism of America. And so he stood facing the world as well. Martin, the courageous man, a warrior of this place in time.

Martin and Rosa cried out amidst their destined glory. They were here crying out and protesting for our civil rights. And suddenly, we all joined in and stood here at this place creatively called America. We stood up and counted our names for our slave ancestors . . . for our undying cause . . . for our human dignity.

Martin had heard this Black lady on a bland bus ride in Montgomery, Alabama, calling his name. And on that day, we marched through the blistering sun across the dirt roads and down the concrete street. We marched arm in arm and hand in hand, singing the glorious words, we shall overcome. Rosa Louise Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr., they led the march that day. It was a time of destiny.

Black History

Black Legacy