You spend your whole lifetime
â
You spend your whole lifetime in your occupation,
actually making life clever,
easy and convenient for white people.
But when you have to get transportation home,
you are denied an equal accommodation.
Our existence was for the white man's comfort and well being;
we had to accept being deprived of just being human.
â
Meaning
This quote means Black labor was used to make white life easier while Black people were denied even basic dignity in return.
About Author
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks was an American civil rights activist celebrated for her pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Her quotes often reflect courage, justice, and dignity. Parks inspires activists, students, and citizens to stand against injustice, embrace civic responsibility, and advocate for equality and human rights.
Related Quotes
â I was born 50 years after slavery, in 1913. I was allowed to read. My mother, who was a teacher, taught me when I was a very young child. The first school I attended was a small building that went from first to sixth grade. There was one teacher for all of the students. There could be anywhere from 50 to 60 students of all different ages. â
This quote reflects on being born after slavery but still within segregation, and on how education from her mother shaped her early life.
â I talked and talked of everything I know about the white man's inhuman treatment of the Negro. â
This quote means she spoke openly about the cruelty Black people faced under white oppression rather than staying silent about it.
â Why do you all push us around? â
This quote is a simple challenge to unjust power. It asks why Black people were constantly bullied and mistreated.