Rosa Parks occupies an iconic status in the civil rights movement after she refused to vacate a seat on a bus in favor of a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1955, Parks rejected a bus driver's order to leave a row of four seats in the "colored" section once the white section had filled up and move to the back of the bus. In 1946 the Montgomery NAACP defended the paroled Scottsboro Boy Andy Wright and found him employment. That same year, Parks attended a leadership training program run by Ella Baker. In 1947 E. D. Nixon was elected Alabama state president of the NAACP, and Parks became the first state secretary in 1948. 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). Rosa's Activism Begins with the NAACP. Rosa Parks' involvement in civil rights activism began to take shape when she joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1943. As part of the Montgomery chapter, Parks served as both the youth leader and secretary to E.D. Nixon, the president of the chapter. 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. As the secretary of the Montgomery chapter, Rosa documented cases of racial injustice, giving voice to people whose stories were often ignored. The Bus Incident 1948: Parks becomes the Alabama state secretary for the NAACP. 1949: Parks steps back as NAACP secretary to take care of her mother. 1952: Parks returns to the Montgomery NAACP and once more Born in Tuskegee, Alabama, on 4 February 1913, Rosa Louise McCauley Parks grew up in Montgomery and was educated at the laboratory school of Alabama State College. In 1932 she married Raymond Parks, a barber and member of the NAACP. At that time, Raymond Parks was active in the Scottsboro case. Together the couple worked with many social justice organizations. 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. 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). In the 1940s, Rosa became active in the NAACP too, leading the youth division of the Montgomery branch and serving as secretary. In September 1944, the rape case of Recy Taylor galvanized Alabama “Such a good job of brain washing was done on the Negro that a militant Negro was almost a freak of nature to them, many times ridiculed by others of his own group.” —Rosa Parks Raymond became a member of the Montgomery NAACP in 1934, though in time he would grow disillusioned with the organization’s 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. Montgomery NAACP “Such a good job of brain washing was done on the Negro that a militant Negro was almost a freak of nature to them, many times ridiculed by others of his own group.” —Rosa Parks Raymond became a member of the Montgomery NAACP in 1934, though in time he would grow Minutes, Montgomery NAACP, 1955 Recorded by NAACP Secretary Rosa Parks [These pages show minutes from Montgomery Alabama NAACP meetings as recorded by NAACP Secretary Rosa Parks. The original documents are handwritten and shown here in PDF format. Rosa Parks' Bus . In 1955, African Americans were still required by a Montgomery, Alabama, city ordinance to sit in the back half of city buses and to yield their seats to white riders if the Minutes, Montgomery Alabama NAACP, January 9, 1955 Author: Rosa Parks, NAACP Secretary Keywords: Civil Rights Movement, Southern Freedom Movement, segregation, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Montgomery, Alabama, Bus Boycott Created Date: 4/9/2013 4:20:13 PM Her resolve to confront the brutal racism in Montgomery Alabama began years before the bus action. As far back as 1943, she made the courageous decision to join the Montgomery branch of the NAACP, where she quickly became secretary. Being active in the NAACP meant taking serious risks. Rosa’s husband, Raymond Parks, was also active in the NAACP. 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. Minutes, Montgomery NAACP, January 9, 1955 Rosa Parks, Secretary (Transcription) January 9, 1955 Montgomery, Alabama NAACP Minutes Rosa Parks Metropolitan M.E. Church On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks sparked a revolution by simply refusing to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Her quiet defiance became a thunderous call for equality, marking a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement. Why Rosa Parks Matters. Rosa Parks wasn’t just an ordinary person; she was a symbol of resilience and bravery.
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