If you’re an American of a certain age, it’s highly likely that your version of Rosa Parks is a sweet, old woman who was just too dang tired to move to the back of the bus one day and caused a ruckus that lit the Civil Rights Movement ablaze.
Get ready to learn the full truth. Or, at least, as much of the truth that a documentary can provide.
Based on the bestselling biography by Jeanne Theoharis, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks seeks to expand beyond the mythology of Parks by telling the story of a radical icon who fought all her life against racial injustice. She may be known best for refusing to move to the back of the segregated bus, but her decades of activism were truly groundbreaking and set the stage for civil rights movements that still press on to this day.
Executive Producer Soledad O’Brien said in a statement, “The Rosa Parks of American history – the quiet, demure and tired seamstress taking a seat on the bus – is simply a fable. The real Rosa Parks, whom we explore in this film, is a lifelong activist, outspoken strategist and freedom fighter. My hope is that this documentary, alongside Jeanne’s incredible book and the free teacher curriculum that she has created with Zinn Educational Project, helps to redefine Rosa Parks’ legacy and lead to a fuller understanding of her place in history.”
Directed by Yoruba Richen and Johanna Hamilton, and constructed with a blend of historian testimony, archival footage, and statements from Parks’ contemporaries, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks hits Peacock October 19th.