Rosa Parks was a modest seamstress on her way home from work when she refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. That single act of defiance on December 1st 1955 is remembered as the start of the civil rights movement and she is respectfully remembered as the mother of the civil rights movement.
Although many had refused to comply with segregation laws before, Mrs. Parks' humility and strength of character made her an ideal candidate for the NAACP and Women's Rights Movement to rally behind and organize a boycott in protest of her arrest and trial. The boycott lasted 381 days, forcing the government to overturn segregation laws and also launched a then little known preacher and activist, Martin Luther King Jr.
Mrs. Parks' accomplishments leading up to her fateful bus ride, included receiving her high school diploma later in life, and registering to vote, both rare and major accomplishments for African-American women of her day. After she was thrust into the spotlight, Rosa Parks continued her commitment to civil rights by attending marches, co-founding the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development and publishing and speaking about her perseverance.
Rosa Parks: Mother of a Movement
Rosa Parks' decision to take a stand against racial segregation changed the course of American history.
Civil Rights Heroes
Discussion questions and more to help students learn about the actions of people involved in the Civil Rights Movement.
Rosa Louise McCauley is born on February 4th in Tuskegee, Alabama.
Drops out of Booker T. Washington high school to care for her ailing grandmother, and then for her mother.
Marries Raymond Parks, a barber, in Alabama.
Completes high school education, earning a diploma.
Joins the Montgomery chapter of NAACP, serving as secretary to its president.
December 1st Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus in order to make room for white passengers. She is tried and found guilty on charges of disorderly conduct and violating the Chapter 6, Section 11 segregation law of the Montgomery City code.
The black community organizes a boycott of Montgomery buses under the leadership of E.D. Nixon and the Women's Political Council. A committee is formed the Montgomery Improvement Association and the young Martin Luther King Jr. into the spotlight to lead the committee and the boycott.
The Montgomery bus boycott ends after 381 days on December 20th, when the Supreme Court order outlawing racial segregation on buses arrives in Alabama.
Moves from Montgomery, Alabama to Hampton, Virginia with her husband, then moves to Detroit.
Hired as a secretary and receptionist for the African-American U.S. Representative John Conyers.
Co-founds the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, to introduce young people to important civil rights and Underground Railroad sites.
Publishes the autobiography "Rosa Parks: My Story", for young people.
Attacked and robbed by an intruder at her Detroit home.
Publishes her memoirs in "Quiet Strength".
The television movie "The Rosa Parks Story" starring Angela Bassett airs on CBS.
Having been diagnosed with dementia the year before, Rosa Parks dies on October 24th in her apartment in Detroit.
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