Glenn has always talked about the importance of understanding U.S. history and doing your homework. This morning on radio, Glenn explained that, in many cases, our history is so much better than we realize. The story of Rosa Parks the Civil Rights movement, for example, is even more complex than most people realize.
“I mean, I grew up in Seattle, Washington. I didn't know Rosa Parks. I mean, that was so far removed from me that – nothing was real,” Glenn said. “With that being said, we've also learned some things. Do you know that Rosa Parks was not the first one to say, ‘I'm not sitting in the back of the bus?’ Do you know who the first one was? And she was not selected because the NAACP said, ‘We can't sell it.’”
“This wasn't a spontaneous thing. It doesn't make it bad. It's still good. But the first spontaneous one was a 14-year-old girl. She was unmarried. She was pregnant, And she had just had it. And she said, ‘No, I'm not going to sit in the back of the bus. She's the forgotten hero,” Glenn continued. “The NAACP, rightly so, said, ‘We can't use her because America won't listen. She's an unwed mother in the 1950's. That won't go well. But she's the real hero.”
“A great story. Our history is so much better when you know the truth. And we have a chance of survival when you know where we make mistakes. And it doesn't come from a place of anti-Americanism. It doesn't come from a place of hatred for this country or hatred for the people of the past,” Glenn concluded. “That's good stuff. And I believe we're on the verge of that happening all across the country… We're not that much different. We have a lot more in common than we have separating us. We just have to stop talking about the parties.”
