[March 25, 1965 | Montgomery, Alabama] Rev. Rev. Abernathy and all the distinguished leaders of this nation and all of you wonderful Freedom Fighters, my brothers and sisters and my children – because I have been called the mother of this – you see before you now a victim of all that has been perpetrated against one to make us less than human. The story of Rosa Parks stands as one of the most powerful examples of peaceful resistance in American history. Her quiet yet resolute refusal to give up her bus seat on December 1, 1955, started a movement that changed the United States forever. Rosa Parks! Hello! My name is Rosa Parks and I was an important and influential American. You should know about me because I did not give up my seat on a bus to a white man. My action helped to start the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Movement aimed its efforts toward changing the laws in Montgomery, Alabama and in Speech at the Alabama Freedom March March 25, 1965— Montgomery, Alabama SPEECH Rev. Abernathy and all the distinguished leaders of this nation and all of you wonderful Freedom Fighters, my brothers and sisters and my children – because I have been called the mother of this – you see before you now a victim of all that has been perpetrated against one to make us less than human. Delivered by Rosa Louise Parks “Mother of the Modern Day Civil Rights Movement” May 20. 1989 Thank you so very much, President Stein, for that wonderful Introduction, and to the Board of Control, faculty, friends, parents, and graduates of this great Michigan Technological University. I'm very happy to be here. 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. Rosa Parks Speech Rosa Louise McCauley Parks born 4th of February 1913 in Alabama and sadly passed away on October 24th 2005 at the age of 92. Within her lifetime she gained civil rights for African Americans, with the help of Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights participants. Rosa Parks, a woman that changed a nation. Rosa Parks's refusal to surrender her seat to a white male passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus on December 1, 1955 changed America and redirected the course of history. Here she is seen giving a speech in Selma, Alabama, circa 1965, at the political and emotional peak of the modern civil rights movement. Where did Rosa Parks give her speech? Author: Martin Luther King, Jr. Annotation: This speech was delivered four days after the arrest of Rosa Parks. It was given at the First Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) Mass Meeting, held at Holt Street Baptist Church December 5, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama. Did MLK and Rosa Parks meet? And when they met again that winter evening in 1955, Rosa Parks would not be pushed. When the driver got up from his seat to insist that she give up hers, she would not be pushed. When he threatened to have her arrested, she simply replied, "You may do that." And he did. A few days later, Rosa Parks challenged her arrest. 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 Rosa Parks: Civil rights activist Rosa Parks is remembered most for kicking off the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955. She was also an active member of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) who had actively worked for equality more than a decade prior to the boycott and for the rest of her life following it. Rosa Parks being fingerprinted after arrest in Montgomery, Alabama, 1956 (Wikimedia Commons)In 1965, Rosa Parks would have had a lot to say about police brutality.By then, she had left Alabama in poverty and ill health — both brought on by the severe repercussions she faced following her 1955 bus stance — and had been living in Detroit for eight years. By using a clear and engaging way of speaking, we can help students understand why Rosa Parks is an important figure in history. We should use real-life stories and examples to make the lessons interesting and give a full picture of Rosa Parks’ courage and her impact on society. Conclusion. Rosa Parks played a key role in the Civil Rights The Montgomery Bus Boycott speech reprinted below is one of the first major addresses of Dr. Martin Luther King. Dr. King spoke to nearly 5,000 people at the Holt Street Baptist Church in Montgomery on December 5, 1955, just four days after Mrs. Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to relinquish her seat on a Montgomery city bus. For instance, Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This was a big step in making changes to unfair laws. Martin Luther King Jr. led the march on Washington where he delivered his famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, which inspired many people to join the cause. Rosa Parks, the "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement" was one of the most important citizens of the 20th century. Mrs. Parks was a seamstress in Montgomery, Alabama when, in December of 1955, she refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white passenger. The bus driver had her arrested. She was tried and convicted of violating a local ordinance. Her act sparked a citywide boycott of the Rosa Parks launched the Montgomery bus boycott when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white man. The boycott proved to be one of the pivotal moments of the emerging civil rights movement. For 13 months, starting in December 1955, the black citizens of Montgomery protested nonviolently with the goal of desegregating the city’s public buses. Born in February 1913, Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist whose refusal to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in 1955 led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. “President Obama gave a speech in 2013 to dedicate a new statue honoring Rosa Parks, who was an American civil rights activist.” • “In 1955, Rosa Parks famously refused to give up her bus seat; 58 years later, President Obama gave a speech to commemorate a statue of Parks in the Capitol Building.”
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