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. Civil rights activist Rosa Parks refused to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, sparking the transformational Montgomery Bus Boycott. Rosa Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley in Tuskegee, Alabama, on February 4, 1913, to Leona (née Edwards), a teacher, and James McCauley, a carpenter.In addition to African ancestry, one of Parks's great-grandfathers was Scots-Irish, and one of her great-grandmothers was a part–Native American slave. Learn about the life and legacy of Rosa Parks, the "mother of the modern day civil rights movement" in America. Find out how she refused to give up her seat on a bus, sparked a boycott, received the Medal of Freedom, and founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development. Learn about the life and legacy of Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in 1955 and sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Explore her childhood, marriage, activism, and challenges in this comprehensive biography. Learn about Rosa Parks, the civil rights activist who refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery bus in 1955, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Explore her early life, activism, arrest, trial and legacy. 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 Learn about the life and achievements of Rosa Parks, the civil rights activist who refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in 1955 and sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Explore her early years, her involvement with the NAACP, her honors and awards, and her legacy. Learn about the life and legacy of Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus in 1955 and sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Explore her early years, education, activism, awards, and books. Rosa Parks smiles during a ceremony where she received the Congressional Medal of Freedom in Detroit on Nov. 28, 1999. Parks, whose refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man sparked the rosa louise parks biography Rosa Louise Parks was nationally recognized as the “mother of the modern day civil rights movement” in America. Her refusal to surrender her seat to a white male passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus, December 1, 1955, triggered a wave of protest December 5, 1955 that reverberated throughout the United States. 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. An older Rosa Parks recounted how her grandmother grew very angry when a young Rosa told her about the brick incident and worried for her safety. Rosa told her grandmother: “I would rather be lynched than live to be mistreated than not be allowed to say ‘I don’t like it.’” Rosa Parks framed the power of speaking back as fundamental. It is time to move Rosa Parks beyond the elementary school curriculum. Drawn from The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks and various archival sources including Rosa Parks’ newly-opened papers at the Library of Congress, this project traces the expanse of Rosa Parks’ political work and commitments and the breadth of the Black struggle for justice across the 20th century. A Resource for Teaching Rosa Parks Rosa Parks' Biography Rosa Parks is one of the most well-known Americans of the 20th century, but her biography is often presented in a way that distorts and diminishes her “life history of being a rebel,” as she put it. 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. Rosa Parks: Biography, Quotes, Impact On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, a Black woman named Rosa Parks finished her work day and caught a bus home. Segregation was the law of the land in Montgomery, so while the front of the bus was available to white citizens, Black people had to go to the back. View the timeline in table format Rosa Parks Biography Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (1913 – 2005) was an African American civil right’s activist and seamstress whom the U.S. Congress dubbed the “Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement”. A Resource for Teaching Rosa Parks Rosa Parks' Biography Rosa Parks is one of the most well-known Americans of the 20th century, but her biography is often presented in a way that distorts and diminishes her “life history of being a rebel,” as she put it.
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