Best known for the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Rosa Parks also fought lifelong against sexual violence and systemic oppression—exposing the deep ties between racism, sexism and misogynoir.
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Rosa Parks (whose birthday would have been Feb. 4) is often remembered as the quiet seamstress who ignited the Montgomery Bus Boycott by refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger in 1955. Yet, her history as an advocate against sexual violence—particularly the sexual exploitation of Black women—is often overlooked. Parks’ work demonstrates how the fight against sexual violence is inseparably linked to the fight against systemic oppression, particularly racism, sexism and misogynoir.
Early Activism: Fighting Sexual Violence
Before becoming a symbol of the Civil Rights Movement, Rosa Parks was the NAACP’s chief rape investigator in Montgomery, Ala. In this role, she documented instances of sexual violence against Black women and worked to bring their cases to light.
One of the most notable cases she investigated was that of Recy Taylor, a young Black woman who was abducted and gang-raped by six white men in 1944. Despite Taylor’s courageous decision to name her assailants, they were never brought to justice.
Parks’ involvement in the Recy Taylor case included organizing national attention and mobilizing support through what became known as the “Committee for Equal Justice for Mrs. Recy Taylor.” This advocacy predated her famous bus protest by over a decade and demonstrates her lifelong dedication to protecting Black women from both racial and gendered violence.
Sexual Violence as a Result of Oppression
Sexual violence has long been a result of racial hierarchies, sexism and systemic oppression. During the Jim Crow era, Black women were particularly vulnerable to sexual assault by white men, who acted with impunity due to a legal system that refused to recognize Black women as victims. Rosa Parks’ work highlighted the interconnectedness of racism, sexism, and sexual violence, challenging the notion that these issues could be addressed in isolation.
By advocating for survivors of sexual violence, Parks also confronted the broader societal systems that allowed such acts to go unpunished. Her activism demonstrates that addressing sexual violence requires dismantling the systemic structure of oppression—particularly racism and sexism.
The Intersection of Civil Rights and Gender Justice
Rosa Parks’ advocacy illustrates a broader truth: Fighting sexual violence is inherently a fight against systemic oppression, and vice versa. When systemic racism and sexism devalue the lives of Black women, it creates an environment where acts of sexual violence are tolerated or ignored. Thus, dismantling systems of racial and gender oppression erode the power structures that cause sexual violence to take place.
Sexual violence isn’t just the result of systemic oppression, it is also a tool used to gain and maintain power and control, particularly against women and people of color. Historically, sexual violence was used throughout slavery and the Jim Crow era to intimidate, discriminate and oppress Black people. Sexual violence continues to be one of the most common forms of racist persecution.
Sexual violence has also long been used as a form of power and control against women, especially women of color. In present day, sexual violence is often used to keep women and people of color out of neighborhoods, workplaces, and communities.
Parks’ work as both a civil rights leader and a sexual violence advocate challenges us to view these struggles as interconnected. In this way, the Montgomery Bus Boycott was not only a protest against racial segregation but also against the daily humiliations and dangers faced by Black women, including the threat of sexual harassment and assault in segregated spaces. Parks’ refusal to give up her seat was a challenge against racial inequality and a reclamation of bodily autonomy and dignity.
A Legacy of Intersectional Advocacy
Rosa Parks’ legacy is often simplified to her role in sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott, but her lifelong commitment to justice went far beyond that single act of defiance. She understood that systemic oppression operates on multiple fronts—racial, gendered, and economic—and that true justice requires addressing all these dimensions.
Her work reminds us that advocating to prevent sexual violence is also advocating to end systemic oppression. By ensuring that survivors of sexual violence are heard and supported, society takes a step toward dismantling the structures that perpetuate inequality and violence.
Conversely, efforts to combat racism, sexism, and other forms of systemic oppression create a safer and more just world where acts of sexual violence are less likely to occur.
On her birthday, we have the privilege of honoring her legacy through action to dismantle systemic oppression and prevent sexual violence.
