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 earned 40 honorary degrees and the Congressional Gold Medal. Michigan celebrates February 4th as Rosa Parks Day. On October 5, 2005, Parks became the first woman to lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda and in 2013 the first African American woman whose statue is in the Capitol Building’s Statuary Hall. Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama, to James and Leona Edwards. She was raised by her mother and grandparents in Pine Level, Alabama, and spent much of her childhood and youth ill with chronic illness. Rosa Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama, USA, to Leona and James McCauley. She belonged to a middle class family. Her father was a carpenter, while her mother was a teacher. Her parents separated and she moved to Pine Level with her mother. Rosa Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley in Tuskegee, Alabama, on February 4, 1913, to Leona (née Edwards), a teacher, and James McCauley, a carpenter.In addition to African ancestry, one of Parks's great-grandfathers was Scots-Irish, and one of her great-grandmothers was a part–Native American slave. Rosa Louise McCauley was born on February 4th, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. As a child, she went to an industrial school for girls and later enrolled at Alabama State Teachers College for Negroes (present-day Alabama State University). Unfortunately, Parks was forced to withdraw after her grandmother became ill. rosa louise parks biography Rosa Louise Parks was nationally recognized as the “mother of the modern day civil rights movement” in America. Her refusal to surrender her seat to a white male passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus, December 1, 1955, triggered a wave of protest December 5, 1955 that reverberated throughout the United States. Born on February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, AL, Rosa Parks was raised by her mother and grandparents in Pine Level, Alabama. Her grandfather supported the Garvey movement and, when Klan violence escalated after World War I, would sit out on the porch with his shotgun to protect the family home. A 6-year-old Rosa would sometimes sit vigil with him. Unfortunately, Rosa's education was cut short when her mother became very ill. Rosa left school to care for her mother. A few years later Rosa met Raymond Parks. Raymond was a successful barber who worked in Montgomery. They married a year later in 1932. Rosa worked part time jobs and went back to school, finally earning her high school diploma. Rosa Parks’ early life Born Rosa Louise McCauley in Tuskegee, Alabama on February 4, 1913, to a carpenter father and teacher mother, Rosa was largely raised by her maternal grandparents on their Rosa Parks was a devout Christian. Quote: "I would like to be known as a person who is concerned about freedom and equality and justice and prosperity for all people." -- Rosa Parks (See more quotes) # Rosa Parks: The Mother of Civil Rights # Rosa's Story Rosa Parks1913–2005 Activist, writer According to the old saying, "some people are born to greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." Greatness was certainly thrust upon Rosa Parks, but the modest former seamstress found herself equal to the challenge. 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 often worked as a seamstress when she needed a job or to make some extra money. You can visit the actual bus that Rosa Parks sat in at the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan. When she lived in Detroit, she worked as a secretary for U.S. Representative John Conyers for many years. She wrote an autobiography called Rosa Parks: My Story in 1992 The Montgomery Bus Boycott is seen as a turning point in the fight for racial equality and justice, and Rosa Parks' bravery and determination played a crucial role in its success. Early Life and Activism Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama. What was life like for African Americans in the South when Rosa Parks was a child? - hard - different schools, water fountains, stores, etc. - Blacks were treated like non - humans than whites How was Rosa Parks raised "a little different"? In 1932, at age 19, Rosa met and married Raymond Parks, a barber and an active member of the NAACP as well as the League of Women Voters. The couple never had children, and their marriage lasted This biography goes beyond the just telling the facts of Rosa Parks’ life, and encourages children and parents to talk about what Rosa faced and what life was like for a black woman in the 1950s. It also shows how Rosa’s activism relates to the activism of today, and that while the United States has come a long way as a nation, there is Civil rights activist Rosa Parks would have been 100 years old today. Alabama in 1954, and I was raised by African-American females. Rosa Parks started a chain of events that touched my life Rosa Parks, a name that resonates with courage and defiance, ushered in a new era of civil rights in the United States. Her singular act of refusing to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger on December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, ignited a movement that would change the course of American history.
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