Writings, Notes, and Statements
This section contains fragmentary writings, interviews, notes, statements, prayers, and spiritual reflections by Parks that span the years 1956-1991. A collection of early fragmentary writings describes her life, her arrest, and her views on race relations and Jim Crow segregation. Written on scraps of paper and the backs of incoming correspondence, most of the drafts are undated, although their probable dates can be inferred from what they are written on. Many of these jottings date from 1956 to 1958, years that included the Montgomery Bus Boycott and her employment at Hampton Institute in Virginia. An undated draft letter on Montgomery Fair stationery may date from the fall of 1955. The purpose of these writings is often unclear. Some of them likely captured her thoughts for speeches. Others may have been intended for an autobiography. Some may have been private reflections to psychologically process what she had been through.