The day is celebrated on December 1 but is also observed on February 4 in some regions. The former date was set by the Legislature of the State of California on the day she refused to move to the back of the bus, and it is also recognized in Missouri. The latter date is the icon’s birthday, declared Rosa Parks Day by Ohio and Oregon. December 1, 1955: Rosa Parks Is Arrested. On Thursday, December 1, 1955, the 42-year-old Rosa Parks was commuting home from a long day of work at the Montgomery Fair department store by bus. Black ROSA PARKS DAY. Rosa Parks Day honors an American Civil Rights hero twice a year on February 4th or December 1st. The holiday recognizes the civil rights leader Rosa Parks. #RosaParksDay. On December 1, 1955, after a long Thursday at work, Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She took her seat in the 'colored' section. Rosa Parks Day is a holiday in honor of the civil rights leader Rosa Parks, celebrated in the U.S. states of Missouri and Massachusetts on her birthday, February 4, in Michigan and California on the first Monday after her birthday, and in Ohio, Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, Oregon and several cities and counties on the day she was arrested, December 1. Some states observe Rosa Parks Day on February 4, her birthday, while others commemorate it on December 1, the day she refused to give up her bus seat. February 4 highlights her life and legacy as a whole, focusing on her contributions beyond the bus incident. Today in history: On Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a Black seamstress, was arrested after refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus; the incident sparked a yearlong boycott of the buses and helped fuel the U.S. civil rights movement. Get ready to honor the legacy of Rosa Parks and celebrate Rosa Parks Day on Dec. 1! This day was first observed in California in 2000, and has since been adopted by many other states as well. It's a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the impact that Ms. Parks had on civil rights history and her legacy of fighting for racial justice, equality Rosa Parks Day is an observance and not a public holiday in the U.S. About Rosa Parks On December 1, 1955, African American seamstress Rosa Parks was travelling in a Montgomery City bus when the bus driver asked her to vacate her seat for a white man. Rosa and Raymond Parks moved to Detroit where, for more than twenty years, the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement” worked for Congressman John Conyers. In addition to the Rosa Parks Peace Prize (Stockholm, 1994) and the U.S. Medal of Freedom (1996), Rosa Parks has been awarded two-dozen honorary doctorates from universities around the world. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to stand up and give her bus seat to white passengers, which led to her arrest and eventually inspired several movements that led to the fight for civil rights. Parks was a well-educated woman who had learned about the struggles of African-Americans in a segregated country. When is Rosa Parks Day? Rosa Parks Day is observed on December 1st each year. This day serves as a commemoration of Rosa Parks’ historic act of civil disobedience in 1955 when she refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott and becoming a pivotal moment in the American Civil Rights Movement. Here are 11 ways you can commemorate the life of Mrs. Rosa L. Parks, an American Civil Rights hero. 1. Take part in 2021 Rosa Parks Day Commemoration events, hosted by the City of Montgomery. Visit mgmbusboycott.com to view commemoration events and details. 2. Visit the Rosa Parks Museum and Children’s Wing, on the campus of Troy University The Story Behind Rosa Parks Day On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old African American seamstress, boarded a Montgomery city bus after a long day of work. At the time, the city’s buses were segregated by law, with separate sections for Black and white passengers. 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 Montgomery, Alabama on December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks is jailed for refusing to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man, a violation of the city’s racial segregation laws. Rosa Parks, left, and Martin Luther King Jr., second from left, presented this couple with an award at a 1965 ceremonyImage: AP Photo/picture alliance On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, who worked 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 In 1998, various US states introduced Rosa Parks Day — some on December 1, the anniversary of her arrest, others on February 4, her birthday. On December 1, 1955, after a long day of work as a seamstress, Rosa Parks boarded the Cleveland Avenue bus in Montgomery, Alabama, and took a seat. Parks, a black woman, took a seat in the first row of seats in the rear "colored section." On 1 December 2005, bus seats were left empty in New York City, Washington DC and other American cities, to honour Rosa Parks on the 50th anniversary of her arrest. PlanBee has FREE Rosa Parks educational resources for download: Rosa Parks word searches and inspirational Rosa Parks quotes posters.
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