Editorial: Take social activism seriously in honor of Rosa Parks’ birthday

Yesterday marks the day that would have been civil rights activist Rosa Parks’ 100th birthday. Parks’ refusal to vacate her bus seat for a white patron started the Montgomery Bus Boycott, one of the landmarks of the civil rights movement. Parks remained active in the civil rights movement throughout her lifetime before passing away in 2005.

The civil rights movement, along with other social equality movements, such as the feminist movement and the chicano movement, drastically changed American life — especially at college campuses — between the 1950s and 1970s.

At Pitt in 1969, the newly formed Black Action Society presented a list of demands to the university after a peaceful protest. Among those demands were many aspects of life that we take for granted today. For examples, the list included demands that history courses accurately portray African-American and other oppressed peoples, that classes be canceled in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and that a Black Studies (now called Africana Studies) Department be established.

Since then, there have been many strides made at Pitt, both in terms of the African-American civil rights movement and the civil rights and inclusion of other oppressed groups. It is no longer considered revolutionary, but ordinary and expected for large universities to have an African-American Studies and a Women’s Studies department and for professors and administrators at all levels to represent a wide variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

However, while our university and our society at large have certainly made great strides in diversity, inclusion and equal rights, it is important that, in honor of Rosa Parks, we remember to not become apathetic or blind to social injustices surrounding us.

College is meant to be an eye-opening experience that exposes students to new ideas, points of view and ways of thinking. Especially at an urban college like Pitt, many students experience a more diverse group of people than they ever have before. However, it seems that despite benefiting from an environment that purports to heavily support multiculturalism and intellectual exploration, too many college students do not actively demand social justice or examine their own attitudes about race, gender or religion.

Too many people make statements like, “I’m not racist, but …” Too many of us believe that racism and sexism are non-issues in 2013. Too many of us are too busy or distracted to examine and attempt to change the pervasive and institutionalized inequality in our society.

While some previous generations’ college experiences were characterized by protests and fiery social activism, most of us are more likely to “like” a social activism page or video on Facebook (remember the Kony 2012 campaign?) than to organize in protest or to raise money for an important cause. While “slacktivist” techniques of changing Facebook statuses or profile pictures to reflect a social cause can make people feel a sense of togetherness, they are far from the social unrest that made it possible for us to enjoy the rights that most of us take for granted today.

Rosa Parks was a normal woman who sparked incredible social change. Remember that every person, no matter how average, is responsible for improving society.