"The Rosa Parks Story" is an exceptional film that portrays the life of one of America's greatest Civil Rights figures. The film depicts this remarkable woman's life from her childhood to her rise in the Civil Rights Movement as she goes on to inspire the Montgomery Bus Boycott which to this day remains one of the most powerful examples of civil disobedience in national memory. Prior to the late 1960's much of the southern United States was deeply segregated with entrenched systematic discrimination against people of color. Rosa Parks helped spark the Civil Rights Movement in the south that culminated in creating a more progressive and tolerant country. Early in the film, the movie briefly discusses the plight of the Scottsboro Boys who were a group of African American youth who were sentenced to death with little to no evidence for allegedly sexually assaulting two white women. The poor young men who were travelling migrant workers at the time of their arrest were eviscerated by the deeply racist legal system of Alabama and would have been unjustly executed if it weren't for the intervention of the Communist Party in the United States. This story is depicted in the Hollywood film "Heaven Falls". As portrayed in "The Rosa Parks Story", the NAACP tried to assist these boys. But like so many black youth who were swept up by the racist violence that was a regular feature of the south at the time, the NAACP's efforts provided no avail. After witnessing a series of humiliating and deeply harrowing experiences, Rosa Parks transforms on-screen in the film from a young women into a leader who begins her Civil Rights career as a secretary for the NAACP.The "Rosa Parks Story" is powerful because it took the time to remind the viewers of the reason why so many black folk depended on the bus system in the south. Poverty was one major reason. But even if a black man managed to save up for a personal car, by owning a car these men became targets for police and hoodlums. It wasn't easy being a colored person who owned a car. This fact is demonstrated in "The Rosa Parks Story" when Rosa Parks' husband is humiliated by police officers in front of her. Rosa Parks sets out to change this broken system. She starts by changing Montgomery's segregated bus system. The talented actress Angela Bassett deserves praise for her performance which captured the class and dignity that Rosa Parks displayed throughout her entire life. It isn't easy to portray such a remarkable historical figure. The slow piano music that graces the background is kind of unimaginative. But the movie doesn't lack passion. This movie will make you angry if you have a conscience. But that is kind of the point. There was a time when colored people could not try on shoes in public stores or even share water fountains at public parks. There was a time when color folks got lynched by mobs or electrocuted to death for the slightest perceived transgressions. America has a dark history of injustice that shouldn't be hidden by a veil. "The Rosa Parks Story" as a film does justice to the history. One thing the movie gets right is bringing up Colvin Claudette, the fifteen year old girl who was the first person arrested for refusing to give up her seat in Montgomery. The main reason Rosa Parks became a champion of the Civil Rights Movement was her impeccable character. Unlike for others, nobody could ever accuse Rosa Parks of being a criminal. That poignant fact made her arrest all the more awakening. Even Rosa waivers in the film when confronted with the choice to give up her seat to a white man at the greatest moment of her lifetime. She couldn't have known that her moment of indecision would be one of the most powerful moments in the civil rights movement. As Rosa contemplates giving up her seat, other bus riders, even black ones, beg her to give up her seat. They just want to go about their daily routine without a fuss. But that reluctance for change was precisely the problem. After the fateful day of December 1, 1955, their daily routines would never be the same again. The greatest line in the film happens during an argument between Rosa and her caring husband who rudely admonishes her by stating, "You're not Harriet Tubman god **** it". She replies, "No, I'm only Rosa Parks".

Angela Bassett really does an excellent job of portraying this strong yet gentle woman who stood up for what was right. She was not the first to refuse t give up her bus seat but hers was the one that got things to change. America should be rightly ashamed of their history and how they treated black people in the not so distant past ( those vile attitudes still exist in the minds of many, especially in the southern states )Just what goes through a mans mind to expect a woman of any colour to give him her seat is beyond my thinking ( fortunately ) And the way she was treated when trying to get to vote is shameful ( some would say that still happens today, look at the illegality of what happened in Florida when Bush Jr stole the Presidency )Americans you should hang your heads in shame. Watch this film and learn from it.

I didn't plan to write a comment at first, but when I saw one big mistake the director did, I was compelled to write one as soon as I finished watching. I am surprised that no one at that time said anything to the director. It was so obvious.This scene was about Rosa Parks who had to walk several miles in the rain at night, after the bus driver threw her out of the bus. She walked into her home without the wet umbrella. She was wearing some fancy looking dry coat, and her hat looks dry. Her shoes look shiny with no water drop or mud on them. Her hair looked fine and dry. When she took off her coat, her clothes also looked dry. Most importantly, after she took off her "wet" coat, her husband just hung it on the coat hanger with all the other dry coats. There was no water drops on the floor, either.The casting director did a good job by picking those few good white actors. I especially like the one who worked at the voter registration office, she really acted well, had that look. I also liked the one who worked at the white only library. However, the director failed to tell us what happened eventually when Rosa parks took a bunch of children to a while only library. We only saw them trying to check out books, but what happened afterward? Were they allowed to check out the books or not? This is a good real life story. If it was done well, it could have made the audiences to cry, but it failed to do so. The first half of the movie was well directed. After she refused to give up her seat on the bus, the story failed to focus the whole movement. It spent most time on her personal life. It should have showed us how her action led to the whole civil rights movement, what happened at the court, what other blacks did other than refusing to ride the bus. And what happened to NAACP, those people just seemed to disappear from her life entirely.

The background music for "The Rosa Parks Story" is so loud, it drowns out the dialogue between the actors. I put up with this for about 20 minutes, before I nuked the DVD completely.This is a timely/relevant story - but I had to constantly ride the volume control. Surprisingly, the movie was NOT closed captioned, nor did it have an option for subtitles.Pass on this movie -- The dialogue is too hard to pick out from the background music. (WAY TOO LOUD!)Rated 1 star out of 5 (for effort!)Wayno