The Rosa Parks Story

"The Rosa Parks Story" is a 2002 American television movie written by Paris Qualles and directed by Julie Dash. It was broadcast by CBS on February 24, 2002.

Plot

It tells the story of civil rights heroine Rosa Parks, whose refusal to obey a Montgomery, Alabama segregation law prompts the first major Civil Rights demonstration in the country. As a child, Rosa is educated in a private school run by the Religious Society of Friends, where she is encouraged to overcome the limitations of segregation placed upon her and other African Americans in her home state of Alabama. In her late teens she marries barber Raymond Parks, an advocate of equal rights for all. She eventually joins the local branch of the NAACP, although her husband believes that the organization is ineffective in its ongoing battle against legalized racism. On December 1, 1955, after working all day, the exhausted department store seamstress takes a seat in the designated "colored" section of a Montgomery city bus. When the "white" section at the front fills up, the white driver orders Parks to relinquish her seat. She refuses and is arrested and jailed. Her action results in a bus boycott and has a major impact on local religious leader Martin Luther King Jr. Eventually a ruling by the Supreme Court declares bus segregation unconstitutional.

Cast

*Angela Bassett ..... Rosa Parks
*Cicely Tyson ..... Leona McCauley
*Dexter Scott King ..... Martin Luther King Jr.
*Peter Francis James ..... Raymond Parks

Critical recption

Laura Fries of "Variety" called it "a tasteful and stylish biopic [that] should be considered required viewing." She had high praise for Angela Bassett, and said, "In lesser hands, the subtleties of Rosa's personality could be misinterpreted or grossly underplayed. As it is, this flesh-and-blood account is award-worthy material." [ [http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117917063.html?categoryid=32&cs=1&p=0 "Variety" review, February 21, 2002] ]

Awards and nominations

Angela Bassett won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special for her performance, and the film was named Best Television Movie. Black Reel Awards went to Bassett as Best Actress, Cicely Tyson as Best Supporting Actress, Paris Qualles for his teleplay, and the film as Best Network/Cable Film.

References

External links

* [http://www.cbs.com/specials/rosa_parks/ CBS website]
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