'Rosa Parks Story' presents untold history

In the history of this country, there may not be a better example of the ability of one person to make a difference than Rosa Parks. While most people know of her accomplishments or have heard her name mentioned, the majority are unaware of her struggles during her life, before and after the one famous December bus ride.\nThe IU Black Film Center/Archive held a free screening of the Julie Dash film "The Rosa Parks Story" Tuesday night at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center. The film chronicled the life of Rosa Parks from her childhood up until her heroic actions in on Dec., 1, 1955, which helped to launch the civil rights movement.\n"Can we imagine or fully appreciate what this woman did?" asked graduate student Jennifer Heusel. "I hope this film opens our eyes to prejudices of that time as well as today."\nThe screening was part of the archive's series of films honoring Africana Women filmmakers. This semester, the center is presenting a selection of works by independent filmmaker Dash, whose catalogue of work includes short- and full-length films, TV movies and music videos. \n"It's interesting how Dash presents this story," said Audrey McCluskey, the director of the BFC/A and associate professor of Afro-American studies. "She presents Rosa in a very humanized way. This changes the way you view her."\nThe film, which stars Angela Bassett as Parks, was made for TV in 2002. It tells the story of Rosa Parks' entire life, not just the day she refused to give up her seat in the front of a Montgomery. Ala., city bus for a white man. Dash begins the film with her upbringing as a child, moves on to her life as a married working woman and then slowly chronicles her interest and work with the NAACP in Montgomery. \nDash presents the famous bus scene, but it is not the focus of the film. Instead, Dash gives the audience a behind-the-scenes look at Parks, a story that was not told during the time. As the bus boycott erupts in Alabama, we see the struggles that Rosa faces at home and how her decision affected everyone in her life. She receives threats from the Ku Klux Klan, loses her job and has problems with her husband Raymond Parks, who is caught off guard by the sudden publicity their family receives. \nEileen Julien, an IU professor of French and comparative literature who came to the screening having never seen the movie, said she felt it gave her more insight into the dramatic events.\n"What we don't usually see are the costs of acts like this," Julien said. "I think it's a really powerful film."\nGraduate student Laila Amine presented the screening of two of Dash's short films, "Illusions" and "Praise House," in September. She said she felt that "The Rosa Parks Story" was a great film, but different than her other work.\n"(The film) gives focus on women, the main focus being the average woman," Amine said. \nThe presentation of the film was followed by a short discussion of the movie and the life of Rosa Parks. \n"In a sense, when people are ready for change, a figure rises," Julien said. "People were ready, and Parks played the part."\nFor more information on the next and final screening in this series, Dash's "Daughters of the Dust," contact the Black Film Center/Archive at bfca@indiana.edu. \n-- Contact staff writer C. Warner Sills at csills@indiana.edu.