Discussion: COMMUNITY RESPONSE

Resources

• Discussion Participation Scoring Guide.

• Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development. (n.d.). Rosa Louise Parks Biography.

Choose a person (locally, nationally, or internationally) who has taken a stand, similar to the Rosa Louise Parks example that follows, for an issue that resulted in the initiation of community action or the development of a community organization.

Rosa Louise Parks was nationally recognized as the "mother of the modern day civil rights movement" in America. Her refusal to surrender her seat to a white male passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus, December 1, 1955, triggered a wave of protest December 5, 1955 that reverberated throughout the United States. Her quiet courageous act changed America, its view of black people and redirected the course of history (Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, n.d.).

In your discussion, consider the following questions.

• How was this person's action critical to initiating a community response?
• What methods of communication or mass media were used to spread the message?
• How effective was the communication in promoting the issue and creating a critical response?