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. Early Childhood Incidents and Experiences, ca. 1955-1958. Autograph manuscript. Rosa Parks Papers. Manuscript Division, Library of Congress. (Rosa Parks recounts the desertion of her father, James McCauley, and growing up in rural Pine Level, Alabama on the farm of maternal grandparents, Sylvester and Rosa Edwards, with her mother and brother, Leona and Sylvester McCauley.) Parks, R. (1956) Rosa Parks Papers: Writings, Notes, and Statements, 1956 to 1998; Drafts of early writings; Accounts of her arrest and the subsequent boycott, as well as general reflections on race relations in the South, 1956-, undated; Folder 2. - 1998. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, Four months later Rosa Parks sparks the Montgomery Bus Boycott when she nonviolently refuses to give up her seat to a white man. These are the notes that Mrs. Parks took during the school-desegregation workshops. Note that some of these pages may have gotten out of sequence.] Rosa Parks' Handwritten Notes [PDF] Transcribed Notes “To reckon with Rosa Parks, the lifelong rebel, moves us beyond the popular narrative of the movement’s happy ending with the passage of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act to the long and continuing history of racial injustice in schools, policing, jobs, and housing in the United States and the wish Parks left us with—to keep on Image 27 of Rosa Parks Papers: Writings, Notes, and Statements, 1956-1998; Accounts of her arrest and the subsequent boycott, as well as general reflections on race relations in the South, 1956-circa 1958, undated; Folder 2 Image 2 of Rosa Parks Papers: General Correspondence, 1928-2006; Letters and drawings from children; 2002-2003 When Rosa passed away on October 24, 2005, at the age of 92, people around the world mourned her loss. Her body lay in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, an honor reserved for only a few great Americans. Why Rosa Parks Matters. Rosa Parks’ story is a reminder that courage doesn’t always come with loud speeches or grand gestures. 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 (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 The family moved to Montgomery; Rosa went to school and became a seamstress. She married barber Raymond Parks in 1932, and the couple joined the Montgomery National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). When she inspired the bus boycott, Parks had been the secretary of the local NAACP for twelve years (1943-1956). The papers of Rosa Parks (1913-2005) span the years 1866-2006, with the bulk of the material dating from 1955 to 2000. The collection, which contains approximately 7,500 items in the Manuscript Division, as well as 2,500 photographs in the Prints and Photographs Division, documents many aspects of Parks's private life and public activism on behalf of civil rights for African Americans. Q: Who was Rosa Parks? A: Rosa Parks was an African American civil rights activist known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. On December 1, 1955, Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, sparking a significant moment in the civil rights movement. In this unfinished correspondence and undated personal notes, Rosa Parks recounted living under segregation in Montgomery, Alabama, explained why she refused to surrender her seat on a city bus, and lamented the psychological toll exacted by Jim Crow. City Bus lines. Title Rosa Parks Papers: Writings, Notes, and Statements, 1956-1998; Drafts of early writings; Autobiographical, circa 1956, undated Mar. 2, 55 Claudette Colvin Oct. 21-55 - Mary Louise Smith Dec. 1. 55 Rosa Parks. As Parks's notes make clear, Claudette Colvin and Mary Louise Smith, had refused to give up their seats earlier. 4 But because these women were so young, the NAACP felt their cases would not turn out well. Parks, on the other hand, was perfect. Parks, R. (1956) Rosa Parks Papers: Writings, Notes, and Statements, 1956 to 1998; Drafts of early writings; Accounts of her arrest and the subsequent boycott, as well as general reflections on race relations in the South, 1956-, undated; Folder 1. - 1998. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, Title Rosa Parks Papers: Writings, Notes, and Statements, 1956-1998; Statements; Nomination of Clarence Thomas, 1991; Names Parks, Rosa, 1913-2005. Rosa Parks and Elaine Eason Steele co-founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development in February 1987, in honor of Rosa's husband, who died from cancer in 1977. The institute runs the "Pathways to Freedom" bus tours, which introduce young people to important civil rights and Underground Railroad sites throughout the country. ‘Rosa Parks Sat Still’ is a real incident. It tells how Rosa Parks brought a change in the lives of millions of African-Americans. 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. Title Rosa Parks Papers: Writings, Notes, and Statements, 1956-1998; Notes; General; 1956-1964 , 1972-1990 Contributor Names Parks, Rosa, 1913-2005.
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