Bill Clinton's Rosa Parks Eulogy

"I remember as if it were yesterday, that fateful day 50 years ago. I was a 9-year-old southern white boy who rode on a segregated bus every single day of my life."

Clinton goes on to speak of his decision as a nine-year-old to no longer ride in the front of the bus and, like a Daily Kos commenter, I was moved by Clinton's eulogy for Rosa Parks, albeit it in a slightly different manner. I was moved to explore what exactly might be former President Clinton's private bus riding legacy, given that there was no public bus service available to him, as per the WorldNetDaily link above.

Kos commenter: (President Clinton) spoke about 45 minutes ago. He was awesome.

As we know, Clinton was originally from Hope, Ark.

When Bill was four, his mother married Roger Clinton, a Hope automobile dealer, and moved to a three-bedroom home at 321 East 13th Street. Bill attended "Miss Marie Purkins' School for Little Folks" (Miss Mary's kindergarten).

Bill attended first grade at Brookwood Elementary School in Hope. The former Brookwood Public School at 500 S. Spruce St., where Clinton attended first grade in 1952-53.

Clinton home at 117 S. Hervey St in Hope, Ark.

Clinton home at 321 E. 13th St

The problem for Clinton here is that at no time while living in Hope did he live more than a few blocks from school - see legend and map here. Actually, a mileage search lists it as about 1/2 mile. Granted, every single day of his life may have been a simple over statement, but we can follow him after his move to Hot Springs in hopes of revealing Clinton's, at least regular, if not everyday bus rides by age nine.

Bill Clinton, once enrolled in the Hot Springs Public Schools, attended Ramble Elementary School, where he began acquiring the education and leadership experiences that helped instill in him the qualities that have led him to political success.

EARLY BOYHOOD HOME- 1011 Park Avenue. President Clinton was eight when the family moved into this home. They resided there from 1954 until 1961 when the family, including his German Shepherd, moved to his new home on Scully.

The problem here is that the distance from home to school appears to be at most .8 miles, actually it seems he all but lived on the same street he went to school.

GRADE SCHOOL- Off Park Avenue at Ramble and Ramble Terrace. Ramble Elementary. Now the location of the First Apostolic Church, the red brick auditorium is all that remains of the original school.

And for added measure, it doesn't appear as though he spent much time on the bus on Sunday's either:

CHURCH- 721 Park Avenue. Park Place Baptist Church is where President Clinton was baptized. The President's mother recounted that he never missed a Sunday. Often she had to work, so, on his own, he would pick up his Bible and walk to the church.

In my opinion, Rosa Parks didn't deserve a superficial, self-serving eulogy from a former American President ... perhaps, more than anything else, one designed to make said former president and white America feel good. No, I think she deserved better than that.

Unless of course I'm mistaken and the industrious Bill Clinton was actually working a night factory job in another town and taking the bus to work on the midnight shift by the time he was nine ... while Al Gore was huddled under his covers with a flash light, starting to invent the Internet. Yeah ... right.

Comments

[cna]

I know the distance doesn't seem far, but what makes you think that there wasn't still bus service available? Bill has always been a bit overweight, maybe it's rooted in the fact he was lazy as a kid and took the bus instead of walking to school. Perhaps I'm just not aware, since I'm from a younger generation, but is it common knowledge that back in the 50's if you lived less than a mile from school you had to walk?

[cna]

Ok, never mind that last post, I must have skimmed over the part where it said that where he lived didn't have bus service.

[lurker]

Attacking a eulogy? Come on.. you've sunk to a new low.

[lurk]

Can't wait to see what Dan does to the eventual eulogy of NH. Anyone preparing to say anything, better choose their words awful carefully.

[Dan]

Attacking a eulogy? Come on.. you've sunk to a new low.

All that is is proof that you place more importance on the words and BS of BC than the legacy of Rosa Parks. Pretty sad set of priorities you got there, IMO.

[cindi in pa]

Damn sad Clinton had to use his BS again, and to lie during a eulogy shows what a pathetic person he is. Ms. Parks deserves better. And isn't a eulogy supposed to be about the person who has died, and not about one's own struggles? Kind of said "yeah right" on him no longer choosing to sit in the front of the bus.

[swanky]

I agree. Too bad those who made the funeral arrangements didn't choose someone less narcissistic to deliver the eulogy...someone who could have put the focus 100% on Rosa. Bill has a very hard time letting the spotlight completely shine on anyone else - ever.

[tomkat]

Well was he talking about public school buses or city public buses? They were both segregated in the 1950s.Every kid in small town America has used public city buses to get around town.Well at least they did back in the 1950s in the South. Hot Springs,Ark. would have had city buses and they would have been segregated.

[FlightofFancy]

Some of these Bill Clinton apoligists remind me of the Town Hall meeting in Arkansas when Chris Matthews held court and asked the question about what they all thought about Clinton having sexual enounters with Monica. One woman stood up and proclaimed in a rather loud voice, Well, I for one don't believe it". Chris Matthews was stunded, considering Bill Clinton had already made his apology to the American People for his behavior with Monica. Chris explained to the Clinton Supporter, that Bill had already admitted he had an improper relationship with Monica, The supporter replied, I still don't believe it. That, my friends is the mentality of most of Bill Clintons supporters and in my opinion this same mentality is rearing it's ugly head in the Natalee Holloway Case. No matter what happens in this case, even if someone other than the three boys confess, or Natalee is found in a foreign country, sme of these Beth groupies will insist the three boys had to have something to do with it because Beth says so. It's a cult mentality if you ask me. Let them have their Kool Aid.

[cindi in pa]

Hot Springs,Ark. would have had city buses and they would have been segregated.

Posted by: tomkat | Nov 5, 2005 4:23:39 PM

If you read the original article Dan has linked, there was not pubic transportation until 26 years ago.

[cindi in pa]

oops public lol

[caseyschenkofsky]

O.K.,

Could be a snowjob courtesy of the former president. But am I going to use the linked story which makes multiple assertions about where, when, and what without any support? No.

The most offensive part of this is the end of the piece which goes "And any Democrat today, who would condemn a black for choosing the party of Lincoln is no different than those who condemned all blacks to ride on the back of the bus, or closed school house doors to prevent them from attending."

If that is what this is all about, then someone is really grasping at straws, and has not had to concretely reflect on the effects of racism. There is quite a difference between condemning a Black Republican for being both, and segregation. Kind of like the difference between me being called a "nigger" in North Jersey while waiting alone for a bus on an otherwise pleasant summer night, and a lynch party, I'm afraid.

And this whole "party of Lincoln" thing is too much. Party of Thurmond, Bush, Helms, DeLay, Checkers even... But Lincoln?

[caseyschenkofsky]

Is this the same Nina May?
" I asked if there was a Blonde national anthem too . . . or Hispanic, or Asian. But as I sat there watching people sing with pride a song that divides the races, I thought about what Rosa Parks must have felt, sitting on the back of the bus, not welcome to participate in the bounties of America, and excluded solely because of the color of her skin."
http://www.ninamay.com/Article114.html

Might she be referencing this?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lift_Every_Voice_and_Sing
http://www.afroamericanflag.com/music.htm
"It was first performed in public in the Johnsons' hometown of Jacksonville, Florida as part of a celebration of Lincoln's Birthday on February 12, 1900 by a choir composed of 500 schoolchildren at the segregated Stanton School, where James Weldon Johnson was principal."

God forbid Nina May find out about this; it might make her commentaries look "naive"!

[bill]

it is obvious that you are prejudice and all your friends here like cind in pa(defended condolisa rice spending her time buying shoes instead asking for help after the new orleans huricane while brown was getting a pat on the back for good work) I will never return to this blog ever again it makes me sick to my stomach this is a propaganda machine for your group sad

[RJ]

I have to say I don't always agree with you Dan. But most of the time I can at least appreciate your logic. This time however I am a little disturbed you would use this instance to trash Clinton. Kinda tacky really. IMO

[B]

No one died when Clinton lied...

[Dan]

I will never return to this blog ever again

Well, I assume your last name ain't McArthur. See ya! And RJ - sorry, it's a matter of principle. Frankly, I have a real issue with someone grandstanding, or making up their own personal history while delivering a eulogy for someone with such a noble history of their own.

And the fact is if Bush did something like that, more than a few of the Clinton defenders here would be calling for his head - and so would I. I find the conduct reprehensible.

[Bitsey]

Well, Dan, the commentary you're quoting from totally misrepresented what Clinton said and so have you.

He said he rode the school bus every single day of his life WHEN HE WAS NINE YEARS OLD. Hello?

He was in the third or fourth grade. It's entirely possible he rode a bus the year he was nine.

[splashtc]

Clinton keeps trying more and more to become black. Yo bro wasup. His office is in harlem. Which is not really a good thing for the community. Gentrification is driving real estate prices up and the community is getting priced out.

[caseyschenkofsky]

O.K., I followed the links to these clips:
http://www.clickondetroit.com/video/5233581/detail.html

Clinton says he rode the bus every day, but does not say where or why. It could easily mean what you assume it means, or could just as easily mean every time he took the bus... Wherever. These are only excerpts so, yes, maybe more incriminating material has been expunged. But this is really not a big thing. There are far bigger political issues hobbling around on crutches, last time I checked.

This seems like such a petty investigative exercise, and holds no weight given your source, whose need for a blonde national anthem I strive to forget. Please, at least acknowledge that the Nina May reference is useless!

BTW splashtc, I fail to see how locating one's office on 125th street makes one black, or whatever. What is that supposed to mean? I'm typing this from a room 27 floors above the East River. Does that make me a bird?

[jolari]

oops public lol

Posted by: cindi in pa | Nov 5, 2005 5:33:00 PM

oops he### LOL

[Dan]

Well, Dan, the commentary you're quoting from totally misrepresented what Clinton said and so have you.

Bitsey - I don't know what you're reading but I covered the period of time he stated - from when he started school until he was nine - actually 11, I think. You aren't even looking at the facts in the post.

[caseyschenkofsky]

The main post is a picture perfect example of what can go wrong with blogging: people become so interested in getting a post up that they don't care if they reference baseless commentary. I give up.

[Robert]

This Rosa Parks crap is unbelievable. This is another example of inflating the "importance" of one of the political whores of the civil rights movement. Some years ago while in Montgomery, Alabama I noticed Rosa Parks Boulevard. It was a busy major traffic way. A couple of block down was Eisenhower Street. It was a two lane street that ended behind a service station at a dumpster. That sounds about right for recognition of a President, Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, Commander of NATO, Father of the Interstate Highway System, and other contributions. Who needs a major street named after them for all Ike did when you can plant your ass in a bus seat?

[BamaGrl25]

He could have been referring to the times when he went into bigger cities. I remember reading that he went into Little Rock on occasion as a child and also remember hearing about trips he took to New Orleans in order to visit his mother who was becoming a nurse......

[Marilyn]

I have to say I don't always agree with you Dan. But most of the time I can at least appreciate your logic. This time however I am a little disturbed you would use this instance to trash Clinton. Kinda tacky really. IMO

Posted by: RJ | Nov 5, 2005 7:04:40 PM

Well said, RJ... I agree... Besides that, facts are in question here and we have no idea if he rode in busses or not unless someone knows what he was doing and exactly where he was all the time. Give the guy a break!

[caseyschenkofsky]

"This Rosa Parks crap is unbelievable. This is another example of inflating the "importance" of one of the political whores of the civil rights movement.'

WTF, is that how you get points here, calling the deceased whores? What a sad thing. What next, Rosa Parks aided and abetted terrorists by helping desegregate the U.S.?

[!]

You got it all down pat !! Right on. !

[Robert]

The term is not whore. The term is "political whore." There is a difference.

[Bitsey]

Bitsey - I don't know what you're reading but I covered the period of time he stated - from when he started school until he was nine - actually 11, I think. You aren't even looking at the facts in the post.
Posted by: Dan | Nov 5, 2005 8:28:10 PM

I most certainly am looking at the facts in the post. I also see a lot of silly conjecture. The period of time Clinton covered was the age of nine years. Not ten, not eleven.
Clinton says, "I remember as if it were yesterday, that fateful day 50 years ago. I was a 9-year-old southern white boy who rode on a segregated bus every single day of my life."

Perhaps you are not familiar with Southern speech. Clinton really is quite clear. He is addressing the year he was age nine.

[tomkat]

Good comments by Bamagrl25. Thanks. When he was nine he would have been in the third grade in Hot Springs,Arkansas. That would have been the year 1955. He was born in 1946. Were Hot Springs public schools intergrated by then. I doubt it. But the Little Rock H.S.was in 1954 if I remember correctly. If there was no public transportation in Hot Springs in 1955 then he was talking about trips he made to New Orleans and Little Rock. And he would no longer ride in the front of the bus. Both New Orleans and Little Rock public transportation(buses,streetcars)were segregated in the mid fifties.

[tomkat]

I just checked it was 1957/58 that the Little Rock High School was integrated. See below.
http://www.centralhigh57.org/
So in 1955 all public school buses going to white schools would have been all white. Sit in the front or back as you choose.
But public transport in New Orleans or Little Rock in 1955 would have been segregated.
Little Bill chose not to sit in the front of those anymore. Got it?

[Shonane]

I think Clinton's eulogy for Rosa Park was well done and that he was sincere in his admiration for her and the stand she took. I also think he is sincere today about his commitment to supporting minority causes. He was the perfect person to be chosen for this eulogy.

That said, He needs to be given a chance to respond to the accusation that he added false details to illustrate this. I don't believe that it is false because he would not had said this in so public a forum where it would be recorded in history. I am younger than he, grew up in Alabama, and when I was 9 yrs old our schools were segregated so there would have only been white children on my school bus. I assume the same was true in Ark. Thus, he must have been referring to a bus other than a school bus (unless the school buses delivered to all the schools where he lived.)

I think that taking one memory he shared (whether accurate or not) and reach a conclusion that the eulogy was not done well or sincere, is unbalanced reporting. If were a member of Rosa Park's family, I not only would have been pleased with the presentation he made, I would have been thrilled that he wanted to do it. What an honor and an well deserved tribute to Rosa Parks to have our past president deliver the eulogy.

[Othello]

...But public transport in New Orleans or Little Rock in 1955 would have been segregated.
Little Bill chose not to sit in the front of those anymore. Got it?

Posted by: tomkat | Nov 6, 2005 7:54:07 AM

And he rode there everyday???

[Shonane]

Reference this commentary at the link posted above:

http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47218

This author is rabid. She seems to be primarily interested in bashing Clinton and Democrats. She presumes that Clinton at 9 yrs old would even know the difference in political parties, even thoough few kids would.

The Republican and Democratic parties have changed a lot over the years. The individuals and their accomplishments are more meaningful that the party they represented at that point in history. Over time, there were racists, as well as progressives, in both parties.

During the 50s and 60s Democratic dominated in the South. The racism evidenced by the leaders in the south was supported by white people in the South from both parties. The author lacks the understanding of the difference in party versus regional culture. It was a regional cultural issue, not a party issue, as the author would have people believe. And neiher party in the south can be proud of their positions during that time. It took external intervention to force change so desperately needed.

In the 60s, John F Kennedy took much leadership on countering racism and his brother Bobby personally visited the south and participated in the efforts of the Freedom Fighters. So you had national level Democratic Party leadership to support change, integration, and civil rights, while local democratic control was resistant to change. Remember though, that there was a time in Alabama -late 50s, early 60s - that pretty much if you wanted to have any chance of winning an election, you ran on the Democratic ticket. The
Democratic run off was where the action was because it was almost a one party system.

[caseyschenkofsky]

I don't think I understand what makes "political whore" and "whore" diverge much in import, but I think I really, really understand the difference between journalism in general (you know, the kind where you get paid to do it and might get fired if you do poorly) and spurious blog content, thanks to a total failure here as far as acknowledging that the Nina May reference is hokum while a partially clad woman perched on a hood is humourously reposted for comic relief. I guess this wouldn't bother me so much if I didn't value the potential of blogging. Two posts in one weekend ridiculing heavier set women? Hmm...

[Gedlu T]

Please send me the full transcript of clinton's eulogy at rosa park's funeral. Thank you in advance for your kind cooperation
Gedlu T