Rosa Parks was a Black civil rights activist whose refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man ignited the American civil rights movement. Because she played a leading role in the Montgomery bus boycott, she is called the ‘mother of the civil rights movement.’ 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". [1] 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 Born in February 1913, Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist whose refusal to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in 1955 led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Her Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat and set in motion one of the largest social movements in history, the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Find out more about her at womenshistory.org. Rosa Parks has gone down in history as an ordinary, elderly black woman who spontaneously kick-started the modern African American civil rights movement. Rosa Parks is best known for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955, which sparked a yearlong boycott that was a turning point in the civil rights Rosa Parks was, what she had to say about her activism and beliefs, and the impact she had on the United States. By refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus, Rosa Parks is known as “the mother of the Civil Rights Movement.” This brave woman, Rosa Parks, was arrested and fined for violating a city ordinance, but her lonely act of defiance began a movement that ended legal segregation in America, and made her an inspiration to freedom-loving people everywhere. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks in Montgomery, Alabama during the 1955 bus boycott. Rosa Parks invigorated the struggle for racial equality when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. Parks' arrest on December 1, 1955 launched the Montgomery Bus Boycott by 17,000 black citizens. In 1987, she co-founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development, promoting youth education and leadership, ensuring that her legacy as a champion for civil rights continued to inspire future generations. Personal Life: Married Life | Husband. Rosa Parks met Raymond Parks in 1932 when she was just 19 years old, and they soon Rosa Parks (center, in dark coat and hat) rides a bus at the end of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Montgomery, Alabama, Dec. 26, 1956. Don Cravens/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images/Getty Images. Most of us know Rosa Parks as the African American woman who quietly, but firmly, refused to give up her bus seat to a white person Dec. 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama. That small act of Rosa Parks, a name that resonates with courage and defiance, ushered in a new era of civil rights in the United States. Her singular act of refusing to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger on December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, ignited a movement that would change the course of American history. 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 occupies an iconic status in the civil rights movement after she refused to vacate a seat on a bus in favor of a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1955, Parks rejected a bus driver's order to leave a row of four seats in the "colored" section once the white section had filled up and move to the back of the bus. Rosa Parks chose to be arrested instead of giving up her seat and became a symbol of the fight against an unjust, racist system. She was nicknamed “the first lady of civil rights” by the U.S. Congress. The Early Life And Activism Of Rosa Parks . Rosa Parks was born in 1913 (February 4), in Tuskegee, Alabama. Her maiden name was McCauley. On December 1, 1955, during a typical evening rush hour in Montgomery, Alabama, a 42-year-old woman took a seat on the bus on her way home from the Montgomery Fair department store where she worked as a seamstress. Before she reached her destination, she quietly set off a social revolution when the bus driver instructed her to move back, and she refused. Rosa Parks, an African American, was On 1 December 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested in Alabama for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man. Discover how her act of defiance sparked the US civil rights movement. In 1932 she married Raymond Parks, a barber and member of the NAACP. At that time, Raymond Parks was active in the Scottsboro case. In 1943 Rosa Parks joined the local chapter of the NAACP and was elected secretary. Two years later, she registered to vote, after twice being denied. By 1949 Parks was advisor to the local NAACP Youth Council. Who was Rosa Parks? Rosa Louise McCauley was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, on February 4, 1913. She grew up in a world that constantly reminded her she was considered “less than” because of the color of her skin. Schools, water fountains, restaurants, and even sidewalks were divided by strict segregation laws known as “Jim Crow” laws.
Articles and news, personal stories, interviews with experts.
Photos from events, contest for the best costume, videos from master classes.