I See The Energy Of Young People

People Have Said Over The Years That The Reason I Did Not Give Up My Seat Was Because I Was Tired. I Did Not Think Of Being Physically Tired. My Feet Were Not Hurting. I Was Tired In A Different Way. I Was Tired Of Seeing So Many Men Treated As Boys And Not Called By Their Proper Names Or Titles. I Was Tired Of Seeing Children And Women Mistreated And Disrespected Because Of The Color Of Their Skin. I Was Tired Of Jim Crow Laws, Of Legally Enforced Racial Segregation.

When That White Driver Stepped Back Toward Us, When He Waved His Hand And Ordered Us Up And Out Of Our Seats, I Felt A Determination Cover My Body Like A Quilt On A Winter Night.

The Only Tired I Was, Was Tired Of Giving In.

I Had Felt For A Long Time, That If I Was Ever Told To Get Up So A White Person Could Sit, That I Would Refuse To Do So.

I Will Always Work For Human Rights For All People.