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. In 1932, Rosa married Raymond Parks, a barber who was deeply involved in the fight for civil rights. Together, they became active members of their community. Rosa worked as a seamstress, quietly stitching clothes during the day while working with the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) in the evenings. The latter date is the icon’s birthday, declared Rosa Parks Day by Ohio and Oregon. A legend of the civil rights movement, Parks’ refusal to give up her bus seat in 1955 ignited a long boycott that lasted for 381 days, leading to the desegregation of transportation in Montgomery, Alabama. After Parks died in Detroit in 2005 at the age of 92, she became the first woman to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. California, Missouri, Ohio, and Oregon commemorate Rosa Parks Day every year, and highways in Missouri, Michigan, and Pennsylvania bear her name. History of Rosa Parks Day. Rosa Louise McCauley, who most know as Rosa Parks, was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, on February 4, 1913. Even in her childhood, Parks lived through the realities of segregation. She saw firsthand the impacts of unjustness and racial discrimination. In the 1950s, Rosa Parks gave the US Civil Rights Movement a huge boost, and inspired Martin Luther King Jr. In 1998, various US states introduced Rosa Parks Day — some on December 1, the Rosa Parks arrives at circuit court to be arraigned in the Montgomery bus boycott on Feb. 24, 1956 in Montgomery, Ala. The boycott started on Dec. 5, 1955 when Parks was fined for refusing to move Rosa Parks rides a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, on Dec. 21, 1956 – the day Montgomery’s public transportation system was legally desegregated. A year earlier, on Dec. 1, 1955, Parks refused to give up her seat for white passengers, sparking a seminal moment in the civil rights movement that led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott and a successful Several books and films offer insight to this day in history and the Civil Rights movement to follow. Quiet Strength: The Faith, the Hope, and the Heart of a Woman Who Changed a Nation by Gregory J. Reed and Rosa Parks; Rosa Parks by Rosa Parks; She Would Not Be Moved by Herbert R. Kohl; Boycott (2001) Selma (2014) You can also visit the Rosa 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. The Regional Transportation District, also known as RTD, is providing free transit for everyone on Tuesday in remembrance of Civil Rights Leader Rosa Parks. Rosa Parks memorial stands in the heart of the Essex Government Complex in Newark, New Jersey. from the day she was born till she left for college at the age of Rosa Parks being fingerprinted on February 22, 1956, by Lieutenant D.H. Lackey as one of the people indicted as leaders of the Montgomery bus boycott. She was one of 73 people rounded up by deputies that day after a grand jury charged 113 African Americans for organizing the boycott. The sign features an image of Parks saying, “Today, this seat is reserved in honor of Rosa Parks.” The tribute comes on what would have been her 112 th birthday. This year also marks the 20 th anniversary of Metro’s historic Rosa Parks bus. The commemorative bus is the same model she protested on and was refurbished in 2005 after Parks Rosa Parks Day is a state of CA holiday that honors the life and legacy of Rosa Parks, an influential activist known for her pivotal role in the civil rights movement in the United States. The activist is widely recognized for her courageous act on December 1, 1955, when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white person in Montgomery, Alabama. 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 CAT will dedicate a seat on every fixed-route and paratransit mobility vehicle in remembrance of Rosa Parks. “Rosa Parks’ act of courage reminds us that transit systems must serve as pathways The Regional Transportation District, also known as RTD, is providing free transit for everyone on Tuesday in remembrance of Civil Rights Leader Rosa Parks. The Regional Transportation District, also known as RTD, is providing free transit for everyone on Tuesday in remembrance of Civil Rights Leader Rosa Parks. ©2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights A unity march from the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church to the Rosa Parks Museum was among the activities commemorating Rosa Parks Day. On Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks boarded a Montgomery city bus outside the department store where she worked as a seamstress.
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