Sunday, October 30, 2005
On Target
Last week, as we all know, Rosa Parks died. I never met the woman, who defied racial hatred at its heart and, through her quiet obduracy, helped enable many more people, and not just 'blacks', to sit in far more interesting places than bus seats. I don't know if she was a saintly woman as some cartoons depicted her. I'm happy that Congress honors her by placing her casket for viewing in the Senate: I'd go.
And then this. A full page ad in today's NYT (Sunday, p11, main section, New England final).
The page is dominated with a picture of a woman on a bus. Rosa Parks
The headline: "Never has a more quiet act of courage been heard so loudly by a nation".
Below: "On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, paid her fare and sat down. Her strength in refusing to give up her seat helped spark the civil rights movement and inspired a nation to change for the better. It's a single act of courage we honor with two simple words. Thank you."
That's it, its stark, well-written simplicity as good as any eulogy. And one more thing: far away from the text, is a tiny, subtle logo; concentric rings, the familiar logo of Target. BUT NOT the name of the company, which appears nowhere on this page (and there is no text anywhere else to make the point). And for this classy recognition of heroism's importance, commerce's insignificance, these small words to Target: thank you.
And then this. A full page ad in today's NYT (Sunday, p11, main section, New England final).
The page is dominated with a picture of a woman on a bus. Rosa Parks
The headline: "Never has a more quiet act of courage been heard so loudly by a nation".
Below: "On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, paid her fare and sat down. Her strength in refusing to give up her seat helped spark the civil rights movement and inspired a nation to change for the better. It's a single act of courage we honor with two simple words. Thank you."
That's it, its stark, well-written simplicity as good as any eulogy. And one more thing: far away from the text, is a tiny, subtle logo; concentric rings, the familiar logo of Target. BUT NOT the name of the company, which appears nowhere on this page (and there is no text anywhere else to make the point). And for this classy recognition of heroism's importance, commerce's insignificance, these small words to Target: thank you.
|| Unknown, 5:50 PM
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