Rosa Parks Biography

 Rosa Parks was an African-American civil rights activist who is most well known for her act on December 1, 1955, when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white man, which was violating segregation laws at the time, and got her arrested. This eventually sparked a nationwide civil rights protest in the Southern US by African-Americans and led to the 1964 Civil Rights Act that ended racial discrimination in the USA.

     Rosa Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley on February 4, 1913. She grew up on her grandparent’s little farm in Pine Level, Alabama with her mother. She went to school at age six. Schools were separated for African-Americans and whites as were many other public facilities such as bathrooms, water fountains, libraries, swimming pools and even phone booths. Buses were also segregated as the front seats were only for white people and African-Americans must sit in the back. Rosa hated segregation and thought African-Americans shouldn’t be treated unfairly.

     Rosa Parks married Raymond Parks in 1932, who was a barber and also an active member of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People). This organization helped fight for the civil rights of African Americans. She volunteered as a secretary for the NAACP and also worked as a seamstress at a local department store in Montgomery. Here she did sewing work and it was one of her favourite hobbies.

      Then on December 1, 1955, Rosa took the city bus on her way back home from work. She paid her fare and sat in the middle of the bus. As the bus drove on, the bus started filling up with people. One white man could not find a seat. The bus driver ordered Rosa to move to the back but she stayed put. The bus driver called the police and Rosa got arrested. She was fined $14.

     Her arrest started a citywide bus boycott led by African-Americans leaders. The next day, African-Americans would take the cab, car pool or walk to get to work. The boycott was a success and African-American leaders met again in a church meeting, forming a group called MIA (Montgomery Improvement Association) which was led by Martin Luther King. They discussed further plans of the boycott and thousands of African-Americans attended to show their support. The boycott continued for months, crippling the bus company as 75% of bus riders were African-Americans at the time. The boycott brought national attention to the situation in Montgomery and put pressure on the government. Finally on November 13 1956, the US Supreme Court ruled that segregation on buses was against the law and ended the 381 day boycott.

     Rosa Parks and her family would move to Detroit as she felt living in Montgomery would be unsafe. She would continue to speak about civil rights and won many awards for her actions. She would be later known as the “mother of the civil rights movement”. She died in 2005 at the age of 92.

     Rosa’s action may seem simple but it was significant. She thought everyone should be treated equally and stood up against racism. This was all the inspiration African-Americans needed to follow suit and fight for what they wanted. Unlike most African-Americans at the time who accepted the unfairness, she took a stand to what she thought was injustice not only for African-Americans, but to all kinds of discrimination across the country. Her act not only improved the lives of all African-Americans across the US, but changed the whole society to what it is like today. The success of the bus boycott encouraged other civil rights protests and led to the Civil Rights Act that ended racial discrimination in the US. Sadly enough, there is still racial discrimination happening around the world today and if no one is going to stand up and protest, nothing will change.