Contestant No. Eleven

I don't think there is anyone better through whom to revitalize the Epitome of Female Beauty Contest. I know that after we go through sixth grade Social Studies class that we all more or less understand that it goes without saying that Rosa Parks did way more than remain in her seat. She gave a face to a nascent movement whose members were only beginning to realize how much unity and common ground would be necessary for any semblance of success. She became the standard waved at all opposition. A reminder of what was at the heart of the fight for equality: the simple ability to live everyday without the humiliation of Jim Crow laws. If a seamstress could stick it to the man, then by gum so could black people everywhere. Few know that Rosa Parks was, in fact, already a part of this movement. She was the grassroots type, sending out fliers and holding workshops to educate young people about what the fuss was all about. She was also a replacement: a 15 year old girl had done a very similar thing but had gotten pregnant and was not seen as fit to represent the movement. But Rosa Parks--worker, visionary, pillar of the Montgomery community--was perfect. And she went right along with it. It all began with remaining in her seat, but she was no less formidable when lending her quiet but powerful legacy to all aspects of the civil rights movement. It might have happened without her. But that in no way diminshes her strength of character and conviction, demonstrated several times in her life, or her claim to recognition as a truly beautiful woman. R.I.P.