Rosa Parks -- our African American Hero.

May God continue to bless you Ms. Parks, and thank you for your undying courage.

"History teaches that great freedom movements most often begin with an inspiring act of bravery. So we mourn the loss and celebrate the life of Rosa Louise Parks, whose courageous act of principled non-violence ignited the American civil rights movement.

Thursday, Dec. 1, 1955, began as so many other days did in Montgomery, Ala. There was no hint that an incident would occur that would signal the dawning of a new day in that city, the South and the entire nation. A seamstress by trade, Parks was a daily bus rider. But she was also the secretary and youth adviser of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP. That organization had protested the inhumane treatment of blacks so often that Parks was well-known to bus drivers, who would sometimes pass her by rather than allow her to board the bus.

But not on Dec. 1, 1955, when the centuries-long yearning of a people for human dignity found its eloquent expression in the words of a woman who had enough: "No, I will not stand up." And when the driver told her, "I'm going to have you arrested," she replied, "You may do that." I have always felt that Parks was sent to us by God because she was exceptionally well-prepared for the role of sparking our movement. Parks possessed remarkable character and an unclouded sense of justice. As one of our supporters chanted when Parks appeared in court to address the charge against her: "They messed with the wrong one now."

As my husband, Martin Luther King Jr., wrote, Parks' refusal to cooperate with racism that day was based on "her personal sense of dignity and self-respect ... by the accumulated indignities of days gone by and the boundless aspirations of generations yet unborn."

Parks provided our movement with a matchless example of the spirit of non-violence. By the sheer force of her will, she set in motion a revolution that continues to reverberate in nation after nation and remains an inspiration to liberation movements everywhere.

In December, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Parks' courageous act and the beginning of the Montgomery bus boycott, a date that launched the modern civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King Jr. We will mark this day with a measure of sadness that Parks will not be with us in person.

In the firmament of great American women, no star illuminates the path to human liberation more brightly than hers. Let us honor Rosa Parks, not only with words of tribute but also with renewed dedication to end racism, sexism and all forms of bigotry, and by following her still-radiant lodestar to guide us through the freedom struggles of the future."

By: Coretta Scott King is the founder of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-violent Social Change in Atlanta. Bernice King is a preacher, speaker and author.

Ms. Parks, I vow to continue the struggle for justice for African Americans in America.

Your life, and your acts for justice for your people will not be in vain.