It’s ironic that civil rights activist Rosa Parks has died the week before Moorpark’s Rotary Club traditional presentation of the Battle of the Blue and Gray. Although America’s bloodiest war didn’t deliver universal freedom, it set in motion the wheels of change.

The war of North versus South was more about the preservation of the Union than it was about slavery, but it did pave the way for a black woman 90 years later who would boldly fight discrimination.

The Civil War brought the end of slavery and put our country on a new path. But long after the end of the Civil War, racial prejudice still reigned.

The promise of “all men created equal” existed in words only.

The fight for equality was given teeth after Parks refused to accept racism.

In 1955, Rosa Parks was on a public bus in Montgomery, Ala. when she refused to give up her seat to a white man. At that time and place, her act of defiance was unprecedented.

Our nation and the entire world cannot forget her as a beacon of light in the war against injustice. Parks will be remembered forever in the fight for civil rights.

She inspired many courageous people, including a then 26-year-old Martin Luther King Jr.

If you enjoy history or even if you don’t, the weekend of Nov. 4 and 5 will provide an opportunity to witness a “living” Civil War event in Moorpark.

Please see the ad on page 7 or visit the website at www.forttejon.org/moorpark.