Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks, a secretary of the NAACP, was remembered by her courage to refuse to give up her seat to a white man on bus in Montgomery that eventually changed the American society towards the attitude of segregation. Before the arrest of Rosa Parks on the Montgomery bus, she had protested against segregation before. For example, she chose to climb stairs when buildings had segregated elevators.

On December 1, 1955, she sat on the front row seat of the “colored” section of a Montgomery bus. After having decided that she needed to protest against segregation, she refused to give up her seat as the bus driver demanded in order to allow a white man to sit down without African Americans. Parks allowed the bus driver to call the police and she was arrested. After the news of her arrest spread, the NAACP leader E. D. Nixon and Jo Ann Robinson suggested a bus boycott with the support of African-American community. As a result , the Montgomery Improvement Association was formed to boycott riding on Montgomery bus. It was led by Martin Luther King Jr. and lasted for 381 days. Finally, Rosa Parks’ incident led to the Supreme Court to outlaw bus segregation. Rosa Parks’ actions had changed the American society.

By Alvin

Rosa Parks: One Woman

On December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama NAACP secretary Rosa Parks refused give a white man her seat on a segregated bus. In response to the bus driver telling her to move, she said, “it was time for someone to stand up, or in my case, sit down. I refused to move.”

After it became clear that she wasn’t going to move for the white man, Parks was arrested. Her case went to the federal court where it was overturned due to the fact that the form of segregation used on the Montgomery buses was unconstitutional. When her case went to the Supreme Court they agreed with the previous court’s decision and claimed the “separate but equal” no longer applied.

Meanwhile, Martin Luther King Jr. led the boycott of the Montgomery buses. A system of carpools was used to ferry around African Americans when needed. This proved that African-Americans could unite to peacefully protest unfair actions.

Parks, once just a seamstress with an interest in boycott segregation, did a lot of things in her everyday life to combat the unfairness. She wouldn’t use colored elevators and instead used the stairs. Similarly, she refused to use segregated water fountains. In the summer of 1955 she attended a workshop promoting inter-racial living for students. Her actions prove that one person can make a world of difference.

-By Becky and Liane

Mother of the Moder Day Civil Rights Movement

Rosa Louise McCauley was born in Tuskegee, Alabama to a carpenter, James McCauley, and a teacher, Leona McCauley. At the age of 11, she went to a private school founded by liberal minded women in Montgomery. Her mother told her as she was growing up to "take advantage of the opportunities, no matter how few they were. As she grew up, she didn’t have any civil rights. She went to Alabama State Teachers College. After she graduated, she married Raymond Parks and settled down in Montgomery. Together they joined a chapter of the NAACP in 1943 to improve the African-American segregation in the south.
December 1, 1955 was a turning point for Mrs. Parks and for all historians. She took a seat in the front row of the "colored" section of a Montgomery bus. As the bus started to fill up, the driver ordered Mrs. Parks to leave the front of the bus so a white man could sit down not next to an African American. She refused to move. The bus driver threatened to call the police. Mrs. Parks replied, "You may do that."The word of her arrest spread quickly.
That incident led to the formation of the Montgomery Improvement Association, lead by Dr. Martin Luther King, a young pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. The Association called for a boycott of the city owned bus company. It lasted 382 days and brought the Association a lot of attention. It proved to the world that one community could unite and organize a successful protest movement.
After the protest, A Supreme Court decision struck down on the Montgomery ordinance under which Mrs. Parks was fined. They also outlawed racial segregation on public transportation.
Mrs. Parks and her husband moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1957 where Mrs. Parks served on the staff of U.S. Representative John Conyers. In her honor, the Southern Christian Leadership Council established an annual Rosa Parks Award.
Her husband passed in 1977. She then founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development. It sponsors an annual summer program for teenagers called Pathways to Freedom.
Mrs. Parks passed away in 2005 at the age of 92 in Detroit. Rosa Parks changed many lives and liberated many people.

Rosa Parks

By Arthur

On December 1st, 1955, one woman decided to take the initiative of sitting on the "white" section of the public transit bus. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger, which led to her arrest. She was one of many who were arrested during the period for sitting in the "white" section of the bus. She had been arrested for violating segregation laws. Her arrest led the NAACP and the Montgomery church leaders to start a boycott on the buses.

The African-American population in Montgomery, which was 70% of the passengers who took the bus, decided to walk instead of taking the bus. The bus boycott was led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was one of the most revered leader for civil movement. The boycott was very successful, lasting over 380 days. The Supreme Court declared that the segregation of the buses were illegal, causing a desegregation on the buses.

This court case angered many white passengers, who decided to fire and threat Park's family. Rosa Park moved to Detroit, Michigan to work as a receptionist for U.S. Representative, John Conyers. Rosa Parks was given numerous awards for her movement in the African American society.