On Thursday Jan. 24, well-known storyteller Nothando Zulu told the story of the Civil Rights movement from the perspective of Rosa Parks.

Zulu started performing as a storyteller in 1977. Over the years she has reached thousands with her engaging stories and has earned the title of Master Storyteller. She is the President and Director of Black Storytellers Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to maintaining the tradition of oral storytelling.

Zulu grew up near Franklin Va. when segregation was common practice. When the Montgomery Bus Boycott started in December of 1955, Zulu was eleven years old.

“We didn’t have a bus system to integrate in Franklin,” Zulu said. “We didn’t try to integrate the schools, and I don’t know why… we never thought about it.”

The schools were not integrated in her community until the middle of the next decade.

Zulu said that because of that, the boycott had little effect on her community. Although it did not change things where she was, Zulu still enjoys telling the story through the eyes of Rosa Parks.   To her, Parks represents tenacity, perseverance, and grace.

“She knew who she was, she was proud of who she was, she wasn’t afraid of being who she was,” Zulu said.

Through this story, Zulu hopes that her audience sees how horrible the Jim Crow system really was. She also wants them to see that although there has been a change in the laws, there is yet to be a change of heart in some people.

The fact that Rosa Parks stood up to a corrupt system is another aspect Zulu hopes that her audience takes away from her story.

“She wasn’t what would have been considered a rabble rouser, but even if you’re not a rabble rouser, you can be sick and tired of bad systems,” Zulu said.