"Ah-ha, hush that fuss. Everybody move to the back of the bus."

In 1998, before "Bombs Over Baghdad," "Miss Jackson," or "Hey, Ya!," OutKast released a song called "Rosa Parks" on Aquemini. In 1999, Rosa Parks sued OutKast over "defamation and trademark infringement because the Grammy-winning group OutKast used Parks' name without her permission in the song title."

Yesterday, I was happy to read that the lawsuit has been settled.

Under the settlement, OutKast and co-defendants SONY BMG Music Entertainment, Arista Records LLC and LaFace Records will help develop educational programs to "enlighten today's youth about the significant role Rosa Parks played in making America a better place for all races," according to a written statement.

OutKast contended the song is neither false advertising nor a violation of Parks' publicity rights and is protected by the First Amendment.

To me there is something unsettling about trademarking the name Rosa Parks. Maybe I'm just naive, but in a world where people are striving for racial equality and where the Civil Rights movement was defined by a 42 year old black woman refusing to sit in the back of a public bus, the idea of trademarking that name seems more about personal gain than the overarching importance of the movement. Like it or not, Rosa Parks is a public figure. She can't just choose to be written about in history books alone.