Rosa Parks
(February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005)
Rosa Parks is considered to be the “Mother of the Civil Rights movement” by many, including Congress. At age 42, in Montgomery, Alabama she famously refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger. It was customary at the time for the white and black races to segregate; whites presumed the front of the bus was theirs.
This act was not the first of its kind* but sparked emotion and life into the Civil Rights Movement, primarily because it is linked to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. and the formation of the Montgomery Improvement Association, which was organized by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Rosa, a seamstress from Tuskegee, Alabama would soon find herself thrust into the national limelight after the boycott, which lasted over 380 days.
- Liberty Search Engine results for Rosa Parks
- Rosa Parks on Wikipedia
- Rosa Parks Videos
- Library of Congress search results for Rosa Parks
- The Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development
- An interactive site for kids about Rosa here
- A short video on YouTube.
* Also see the story of Claudette Colvin, Civil Rights pioneer.