This past December marked the 62nd anniversary of the beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, catalyzed by the day Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in the colored section of a city bus to a white passenger. The boycott, a critical component of the civil rights movement, lasted for just over a year and ultimately lead to segregation in the public transportation system being deemed unconstitutional.
Every year, schools teach how Rosa’s refusal to stand up began the boycott, but we never really learned how.
That is, until now.
Behind the Movement covers the three days between Rosa’s arrest and the launch of the boycott, telling the untold story of how everyday people chose this incident as the last straw, and decided the time was right to stand up for their civil rights and demand equal treatment.
I had the pleasure of talking with star Meta Golding, who plays Rosa Parks, about her role, the civil rights movement, working with Isaiah Washington and more.
Her Campus: One synopsis of the film specifically calls this production out as a fast-paced, “unique” retelling. Can you tell us a bit about the film in general, as well as what makes this one so different from previous retellings?
Meta Golding: First of all, and surprisingly for a film about a historical icon of the level of Rosa Parks, there has actually only been one other film. There was one (The Rosa Parks Story) made about 20 years ago with Angela Bassett, which I didn’t watch because I didn’t want to be a copycat.
This takes place the first three days, starting with the day Rosa decides not to give up her seat through the time it took her and the other Montgomery activists to organize and convince thousands of people to boycott. This was in 1955 in the segregated south, so even though it was a tipping point in the civil rights movement, there was a lot of resistance because of the terrorism against black people at the time. They weren’t just putting their livelihoods at risk, but their lives. That’s one element, the other is the personal journey that Rosa took in becoming the face of the boycott. What I didn’t know was that she had already been a seasoned activist, but once she became the face of the boycott, her and her family’s lives all became extraordinarily vulnerable, and there’s that struggle that we really get to experience.
I love Her Campus, and part of this is that this is a woman’s story. Sexism does not discriminate, and even though the civil rights movement is such a huge part of our history, the female stories haven’t been told. As women, we really need to tell these stories. Obviously Martin Luther King Jr. made a huge impact, and there were a lot of other leaders in this, but Rosa Parks was a very strategic choice to become the face of the boycott, and we never really heard her story or the sacrifices that she made. Throughout the movement, and even before emancipation, women played huge roles that we’ve never heard about. There’s no spotlight on them, and this is a “Her Story.”
HC: It’s funny that you mention that, I was just talking to a friend about this and she mentioned Claudette Colvin, who I had never heard of before.
MG: Rosa is not the first woman to refuse to get out of her seat, and Rosa didn’t get out of her seat specifically to start the boycott; she was fed up and just refused to get up, but the NAACP and other organizations were specifically looking to target the transportation system. There were many women before Rosa, but for whatever reason they were deemed unfit to be the face. For the NAACP to convince people to join the boycott, they had to pick someone that people trusted, someone who wasn’t too young, and Rosa held a steady job, she was soft spoken and church going – her image was exaggerated to not just convince white people, but for the movement to have a figure that was not threatening. It was very strategic, and Rosa was not at all the first person, she was just the first person to be picked to be the face. Beside Claudette (a teenager at the time who reportedly fell pregnant with a married man’s child), there was another, whose name escapes me, whose husband was a drunk. Y’know, if there were character issues or limited financial resources… organizing cost money. You needed bail money, transportation money, needed to pay for gas and to print flyers, and they felt like they only had one chance. When they were going to boycott it needed to be effective. A non-effective boycott would dissuade people from boycotting in the future.
HC: In today’s turbulent social climate, I think it’s become more important than ever to remind people of stories like this one, and what spawned because of it and others like it. Did this come into play at all when you were making the decision to sign on to the project?
MG: Well yes! Definitely, of course. Because this last year, with this new administration, has been such a difficult time for a lot of people. All of the sexist and racist comments coming out of it have disheartened people, but it has them engaged, too. In my community everyone is always talking about politics, and people are more active. These are the OGs of activism! So yes, as a woman, a million percent.
HC: What else drew you to the role?
MG: The script was really beautiful, and I loved that it was a concise telling. (At first) I was like, is it a biopic? Are we going through her entire life? I do think Rosa Parks had an amazing life, and there are many aspects worth being told, but I really liked how concise this was. There are a lot of questions about her – you know they say it all happened because she was tired, but what actually happened in these days?
I was also a fan of our director, Aric Avelino, a beautiful film maker. And I also got to work with some of my heroes! Isaiah, Loretta, Roger… I have been so inspired by them that the opportunity to star in a movie with them? I was not going to turn that up, and it was really amazing to work with them.
HC: This seems like a far cry from projects like The Hunger Games or a soap opera – what was it like working on a true story as compared to your previous roles?
MG: Well, interesting. Okay, so what was interesting was that The Hunger Games was a very political story, so even though it was a completely different genre, completely different everything, it is a series about resistance. So there were similarities. But interesting you ask me that because I didn’t have how Daniel Day-Lewis has a year to prepare, I only had a couple of weeks. It was like a mad rush, because you’re stepping into an icon’s shoes. I was looking at audio, video, anything I could get my hands on. In the consciousness, it’s not like playing Martin Luther King Jr. where everyone knows that iconic voice and timbre, or like Jackie Kennedy. It kind of relaxed me, and I was able to learn her accent, but then kind of channel her and not worry about getting a clone of what I thought was Rosa Parks. I could come up with an interpretation of her organically; I didn’t have to imitate who I thought that she was. I know she was a prolific writer from reading her books, and reading other things that people wrote about her, but I didn’t have to get it exactly right because in our public consciousness we don’t know her specific tone of voice.
HC: Behind the Movement premieres during Black History Month — can you talk a bit about what the timing of this project means to you, and for viewers?
MG: Black History Month is a month to recognize all of the wonderful contributions that black people have added to our country, so I think it’s wonderful that this month TV One decided to put a spotlight on Rosa Parks. I think that in today’s culture not only is Rosa Parks a great black icon, but she is a great American heroine. I think it’s just wonderful.
HC: So you’re a bit of a yoga buff – is that how you would find yourself winding down after some of the more intense days on set?
MG: I tried! I have to say that while I was shooting there wasn’t much exercise happening because we were on such a tight schedule. Usually I’d have to come home and just focus on the next day, and what I’d do in my hotel was just run up and down the steps when I got the chance. I’d try to tell myself to calm down and do yoga, but then I’d think to myself that Rosa Parks was not doing yoga. I also tried to teach myself to sew, because she was a seamstress. It didn’t work out very well, but there was an attempt.
HC: You mentioned before that you were on a tight schedule, how quickly did you shoot this?
MG: We started right around the time the project was announced in October and we shot it in 14 days. Let me tell you something, because it was very difficult. We didn’t have the budget that say Spielberg has. It was a teeny tiny budget and a jam-packed schedule, and it was a period piece so everyone had to be in costume ,and extras had to have their hair cut a certain way, but they got the caliber of actor that has come into this project because they wanted to tell this story. This was not about money, this was because we all believed in the importance of telling this story. I’ve never been on a set where the extras would weep, and even the actors that had smaller roles were all top of the line people, and they all came in in a really heartfelt way. There was so much heart in this film, and it was palpable. I’ve been on many sets and never felt this level of energy or seen this kind of work ethic, because everyone knows that – like Zero Dark Thirty, this is about Osama Bin Laden, and even though it’s fiction – we know the tremendous impact film has on creating our collective history.
HC: Lastly, because he’s been in two of my favorite shows, what was it like working with Isaiah Washington?
MG: He is brilliant — a brilliant actor and a brilliant person. I had never worked with him, or even met him before. He just brought so much passion as E. D. Nixon, another unsung hero in the civil rights movement, and he really advocated for his character. And really all of us! He was full of passion, and had so many stories he would tell me. He’s worked with filmmakers like Spike Lee and Soderbergh, he was like an encyclopedia of knowledge and information to be around. He was so intense, I really think he is one of America’s best actors. I think that of all of them, P.S.
Behind the Movement premieres on TV One Sunday, February 11 at 7 pm ET.