This image of Rosa Parks sitting at the front of a segregated bus contains many possible readings, both dominant and aberrant. Among these different readings are various kinds of ideographs that could be examined. Some of these ideographs include <liberty> and <freedom>. This image exemplifies the ideograph of <liberty> mainly in the context. Rosa Parks, an African American woman, sat at the front of a segregated bus rather than in “her place” in the back. The viewer can even see her sitting in front of a white male which signifies her defiance and spirit of protest. We see the ideograph of <liberty> in the message Parks is sending: that she will no longer be considered inferior due to the color of her skin. This constitutes an ideograph because of the cultural values it exemplifies. In that particular time period (and sadly even in some situations today) African Americans did not know what true <liberty> felt like while white people experienced true freedom daily. This image reveals an alternate perspective of <liberty> (or the lack thereof) for white people while also resonating with African Americans as something that was/is universally felt.
Thinking Rhetorically at GCSU 