Rosa Parks (born February 4, 1913, Tuskegee, Alabama, U.S.—died October 24, 2005, Detroit, Michigan) was an American civil rights activist whose refusal to relinquish her seat on a public bus precipitated the 1955–56 Montgomery bus boycott in Alabama, which became the spark that ignited the civil rights movement in the United States. Activist Rosa Parks sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott that partially ended racial segregation. Read facts about her birth, accomplishments, and more. Parks was the first woman to lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol. After Parks died at age 92 on October 24, 2005, she received a final tribute when her body was brought to the rotunda of the U.S Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American activist in the civil rights movement, best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has honored her as "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement". Rosa Parks (1913—2005) helped initiate the civil rights movement in the United States when she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955. Her actions Who was Rosa Parks? Full name: Rosa Louise McCauley Parks Born: 4 February 1913 Hometown: Tuskegee, Alabama, USA Occupation: Civil rights activist Died: 24 October 2005 Best known for: The Montgomery Bus Boycott. Rosa was born in the town of Tuskegee in Alabama, a state in southern USA. Her mother was a teacher and her father a carpenter, and Unfortunately, Parks was forced to withdraw after her grandmother became ill. Growing up in the segregated South, Parks was frequently confronted with racial discrimination and violence. She became active in the Civil Rights Movement at a young age. Parks married a local barber by the name of Raymond Parks when she was 19. April 14, 2005: Parks and the hip-hop group Outkast reach an out-of-court settlement regarding their 1998 song "Rosa Parks." October 24, 2005: Parks dies at the age of 92 Rosa Parks’ contributions to the civil rights movement . By the time Parks famously refused to give up a seat on a segregated bus in 1955, she was a well-known figure in the struggle for racial Rosa Parks called Malcolm X her hero, and they interacted several times during the American civil rights movement. Rosa Parks was a lifelong activist, as was her husband. Rosa Parks was not the first black woman to refuse to move from her bus seat; Claudette Colvin had done the same nine months earlier, and countless women had before that. Who is Rosa Parks? Rosa Parks, born Rosa Louise McCauley on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama, is celebrated as a pivotal figure in the American civil rights movement. Her most notable act of defiance occurred on December 1, 1955, when she refused to yield her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1980, following the deaths of her husband (1977), brother (1977) and mother (1979), Parks, along with The Detroit News, and the Detroit Public school system, founded the Rosa L. Parks Scholarship Foundation. Parks also co-founded, with Elaine Steele, the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development in 1987. 2. She was an African American civil rights activist, best known for her refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955. Rosa Parks was an African American civil rights activist whose refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955 sparked a nationwide boycott and helped launch the civil rights movement in the United States. Rosa Parks' Bus . In 1955, African Americans were still required by a Montgomery, Alabama, city ordinance to sit in the back half of city buses and to yield their seats to white riders if the Rosa Parks: A Beacon of Courage in the Civil Rights Movement. Rosa Parks, a name synonymous with the American Civil Rights Movement, stands tall as a symbol of courage and resistance against racial segregation. Rosa Parks (1913-2005) is one of the most enduring symbols of the tumultuous civil rights era of the mid-twentieth century. Her 1955 arrest in Montgomery for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and set in motion a chain of events that resulted in ground-breaking civil [] 19 Rosa Parks Legacy Facts: Complete Biography Guide. The name Rosa Parks is synonymous with courage and defiance in the face of oppression. Her act of refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus to a white person on December 1, 1955, sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement. A Laketran rider sitting next to the seat marked reserved in honor of Rosa Parks. Throughout the week of Feb. 3, 2025, the first seat on Laketran and Geauga Transit buses will be reserved for a tribute commemorating Parks' commitment to public transit equity, and impact on the modern Civil Rights Movement. 28 Rosa Parks Facts For Kids. Rosa Parks was a strong lady with an extraordinary story. Here are a few interesting facts about Rosa Parks that will inspire children. Rosa Parks finished her high school education at a time when less than 7% of African-Americans had a high school degree. Rosa Parks’ grandparents were former slaves and were Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist whose refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama, sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement. Born on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama, she grew up in a world divided by racial segregation.
Articles and news, personal stories, interviews with experts.
Photos from events, contest for the best costume, videos from master classes.
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |