Rosa Parks sues OutKast

Rosa Parks sues OutKast
Posted by Wolfman on 08 Dec, 2003 14:26
Rosa Parks is suing Outkast and three different record labels because her name is a title of one of their songs. Story is here: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=638&ncid=762&e=1&u=/nm/20031208/en_nm/court_parks_dc

My 2 cents? Rosa Parks is way out of line. The song does not defame her in any way, does not even mention her name. If anything, the song reminds people of how bad things were back in her day. She might as well sue every history text book that mentions her name.

Rosa parks should not be suing any hip-hop aritst. Hip-hop has done far more for blacks than Rosa Parks ever did. Rosa Parks helped to start a movement, but she is just one person. Hip-hop is an entire culture that has educated millions of people of all races, and brought recognition to a lot of black issues. If you told Rosa Parks 40 years ago "Guess what? In 40 years, your people will have their own music that is highly popular and allows your people to say absolutely anything they want to the entire nation!" do you think she would want to tear this system down?

Rosa Parks is suing hip-hop. What a bad way to go out.

#1 Reply
Posted by leith on 08 Dec, 2003 15:02
Isn\'t this old news ?

#2 Reply
Posted by Wolfman on 08 Dec, 2003 17:51
I dunno, it\'s on the front page of Yahoo today.

#3 Reply
Posted by realisthis on 08 Dec, 2003 18:11
Its an old case reopened...do the reading

#4 Reply
Posted by leith on 08 Dec, 2003 18:19
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

#5 Reply
Posted by realisthis on 08 Dec, 2003 19:12
hahaha

#6 Reply
Posted by melanie on 09 Dec, 2003 10:09
Good for her, IMO, she should sue just for the association of her name. Those **** are slimy and do not shine a positive light on the hip-hop culture. For one, they operate a puppy-mill style breeding kennel for pit bulls bred for pit fighting- (arguably the most despicable, degrading, and threatening sport to the welfare of urban society), and are also involved in the corrupt adult entertainment industry.
Ok made my moral statement of the day.

#7 Reply
Posted by Yoda on 09 Dec, 2003 10:17
Melanie,
I was following you for a while there, but what\'s wrong with adult entertainment? Nothing at all!

#8 Reply
Posted by realisthis on 09 Dec, 2003 11:27
Melanie, those things have abosolutely NOTHING to do with the case at hand....

#9 Reply
Posted by melanie on 09 Dec, 2003 13:39
You\'re entitled to your opinion and I\'m not apologizing for sharing mine. I was saying if it was my name (or statement, claim to fame), I wouldn\'t want them in particular to profit off it. Perhaps she does not want the younger generation to associate her in that way. Her attorneys said she was "deeply hurt".
Never claimed to be an expert on the case, issues, or on African-American history.

#10 Reply
Posted by realisthis on 09 Dec, 2003 13:50
Yes, you are entitled to your opinion, that is correct. But, I was just saying that opinons don\'t matter in a court of law...Opinions make for a bad juror!

#11 Reply
Posted by SkyePrizm on 10 Dec, 2003 00:33
This only proves the the world has offically gone sue happy. (if it already had not) One day, I hope to have a lengthy lawsuit against my mother for giving me such a damn awful perky name. Ya know....I mean come on...
Rosa Parks is famous....what if her name is mentioned in passing in a movie? Is she gonna sue them too? Cause I\'m sure she\'s been mentioned on TV, movies, etc. etc....this is just another form of media and entertainment. These public figures and celebrities need to stop belly-aching. There are huger issues in this world to get all riled up about. I wish they would use their power in the media for good instead of wastefulness.

#12 Reply
Posted by leith on 10 Dec, 2003 01:54
Amen Sista

#13 Reply
Posted by leith on 18 Oct, 2004 13:43
SO it comes to light that Rosa Parks may not even know abt the lawsuit. Her family is suing her lawyers because they feel the lawsuits will tarnish Rosa\'s legacy. Read it in the morn. paper no link sorry.

#14 Reply
Posted by davepeck on 18 Oct, 2004 13:47
Quote
Originally posted by leith
SO it comes to light that Rosa Parks may not even know abt the lawsuit. Her family is suing her lawyers because they feel the lawsuits will tarnish Rosa\'s legacy. Read it in the morn. paper no link sorry.

http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/5037450.html

Quote
Last update: October 18, 2004 at 6:45 AM
Legacy of Rosa Parks tied up in a hip-hop song
Stephen Kinzer, New York Times
October 18, 2004

DETROIT -- Nearly half a century after Rosa Parks helped set off the American civil rights movement by refusing to move to the back of a segregated bus, she is at the center of a swirling legal controversy that her relatives say could taint her legacy.

Parks\' relatives have squared off against her lawyer and caretaker over who can best protect her interests. The dispute is especially poignant because Parks, who is 91, may not even be aware of it. Her doctor recently asserted in a court document that she has dementia and cannot testify or be deposed.

The fight stems in part from litigation that has been filed in her name but that her relatives doubt she knows about. They say her longtime caretaker and confidante, Elaine Steele, and her lawyers are seeking monetary settlements for their own gain.
parks recognition

Steele is the co-founder of the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, which could share in the proceeds from any settlement. She contends that the suits, over a song invoking her name, are meant to protect Parks\' reputation. Her family argues that they trivialize it.

On Wednesday, the federal judge overseeing the suits, George Steeh, appointed one of Detroit\'s most respected residents, the former mayor Dennis Archer, to review the matter.

"Rosa Parks is a mother of the civil rights movement," said Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., who marched alongside her in protests in the 1960s. "It would be very unfortunate if people forgot her raw courage and remembered her as an elderly African-American lady who sued a rock band."

The story of how Parks reached this point combines heroism with pathos, and regal dignity with seething anger. It is tinged with racism and generous doses of jealousy.

Parks was a seamstress in Montgomery, Ala., when, on Dec. 1, 1955, she defied segregation laws and insisted on sitting in the front section of a city bus, which was reserved for whites. Her actions led to a yearlong bus boycott that resulted in the integration of the bus system. It also helped focus worldwide attention on racism in the United States and brought the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to broad public attention.

Two years later, Parks left Alabama to join her brother in Detroit. She found work in a dishrag factory. Steele, a young co-worker, became a friend and confidante. Years later, Parks signed a document giving Steele her power of attorney.

Although Parks had no children, her brother had 13. They were close , but now complain that Steele has made it all but impossible for them to see her.

"It\'s gotten to this point over time," said Rhea D. McCauley, one of Parks\' nieces. "Auntie Rosa does feel safe with Elaine. She\'s been in her life a long time. But if my aunt was still aware of things, she would never have allowed this lawsuit to go forward. She was very protective of her reputation, and now it\'s being besmirched by greed."

The suit involves a song called "Rosa Parks" that is a protest against the way recording companies treat artists. It does not mention Parks beyond the title, but it includes the line, "Ah ha, hush that fuss/ Everybody move to the back of the bus." The suit alleges that the song, recorded by the hip-hop group OutKast, defamed her and violated her trademark rights.

Archer, who is a former justice of the Michigan Supreme Court and immediate past president of the American Bar Association, said the judge\'s order "really came out of the blue."

OutKast and the entertainment conglomerate BMG Entertainment were the original targets of the suit, but last summer Steeh excluded OutKast as a defendant, saying the plaintiff had not named members of the group or complied with other legal requirements. A second suit, filed this summer, seeks $5 billion from various record companies for the OutKast song.

At least some of the proceeds from any settlement or judgment would presumably go to the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development. It raises money for social and educational projects. Raymond Parks is Parks\' late husband.

Parks\' family issued a statement Saturday charging that Steele had filed the suits for "personal gain and selfish motives."

"If our aunt was of physical and mental capacity, we believe she would appreciate the talented group of young men that meant only to pay tribute to her legacy," the statement said.