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 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. From 1965 to 1988, she served as secretary and receptionist to John Conyers, an African-American US Representative. She was also active in the black power movement and the support of political prisoners in the US. After he was elected in 1965, Conyers repaid the favor by employing Parks as his secretary in his Detroit office, a position she held until her retirement in 1988. In the role, Parks worked with constituents on issues such as job discrimination, education, and affordable housing. Parks had become the face of the civil rights movement, but she lost her job and endured threats of violence in the process. She and Raymond moved to Detroit, where she helped elect Democrat John Conyers, Sr. to Congress and served as his secretary until 1988. 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. Widely honored in later years, Parks was fired from her job as a seamstress during the boycott and received death threats for many years. After the boycott, she and her husband moved to Detroit, where she briefly worked as a seamstress. From 1965 to 1988, she served as secretary and receptionist to U.S. Representative John Conyers. Parks had become the face of the civil rights movement, but she lost her job and endured threats of violence in the process. She and Raymond moved to Detroit, where she helped elect Democrat John Conyers, Sr. to Congress and served as his secretary until 1988. Rosa Parks died in 2005 of natural causes at the age of 92. Eventually, Rosa was elected secretary of the Montgomery chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). By the time Parks boarded the bus in 1955, she was an established organizer and leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama. At the time of her arrest, Mrs. Parks was active in the local National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), serving as secretary to E.D. Nixon, president of the Montgomery chapter. April 14, 2005: Parks and the hip-hop group Outkast reach an out-of-court settlement regarding their 1998 song "Rosa Parks." October 24, 2005: Parks dies at the age of 92 The Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute Of Self-Development was established in 1987 to offer job training for black youth. In 1999, Parks received the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, the highest honor a civilian can receive in the United States. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) also sponsors an annual Rosa Parks Freedom Award. Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama on February 4, 1913. She grew up during a time when segregation dominated most facets of life in the American South. From a young age, she was witness to racial discrimination and violence, including a highly active local Ku Klux Klan.McCauley’s parents separated shortly after the birth 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, 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 It connects Rosa Parks’s actions to current social justice movements. Ideal for civil rights anniversaries, leadership conferences, and educational events. #3 A Legacy That Lives On. Honored guests and fellow citizens, today we celebrate the enduring legacy of Rosa Parks, a woman whose quiet strength changed America. 02/03/2025 February 3, 2025. She stood up for her rights by staying seated. In the 1950s, Rosa Parks gave the US Civil Rights Movement a huge boost, and inspired Martin Luther King Jr. Parks found work as a seamstress and continued to fight for civil rights and liberties. And from 1965 until she retired, she worked as a secretary for John Conyers, an African-American congressman. In 1998, various US states introduced Rosa Parks Days — some on December 1, the anniversary of her arrest, others on February 4, her birthday. The Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute Of Self-Development was established in 1987 to offer job training for black youth. In 1999, Parks received the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, the highest honor a civilian can receive in the United States. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) also sponsors an annual Rosa Parks Freedom Award. 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.
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