Rosa Parks

Civil Rights Activist

• Born: February 4, 1913
• Birthplace: Tuskegee, Alabama
• Died: October 24, 2005
• Place of death: Detroit, Michigan

Activist

On December 1, 1955, Parks refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white passenger. She was arrested and convicted for violating a local ordinance. This was the beginning of the Montgomery bus boycott, which had a profound effect on the Civil Rights movement.

Area of achievement: Civil rights

Early Life

Rosa Louise Lee McCauley Parks was born on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama. Her father, James McCauley, was a carpenter, and her mother, Leona McCauley, was a schoolteacher. Parks had one brother, Sylvester. The family later moved to Pine Level, Alabama, with Parks’s grandmother, Rose Edwards. Parks was homeschooled by her mother until the age of eleven, and later Parks attended the Montgomery Industrial School for girls. This private institution focused on self-worth and was influential in Parks’s development. She attended Alabama State Teachers College High School but did not graduate because her grandmother became ill. Parks valued her family, and later she took on the responsibility of caring for her mother and brother. Years later, in 1934, Parks earned her high school diploma. When she prepared to attend college, her mother became ill, and again Parks had to abandon her educational plans.

Parks married Raymond Parks on December 18, 1932. Because of segregation, her husband did not receive a formal education; instead, he was educated by his mother and taught himself as much as possible. He was a barber who was involved in the Montgomery chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Parks later joined her husband in the organization and helped mobilize a voter-registration drive in Montgomery. Parks was the youth adviser for the NAACP, and she also worked as a seamstress.

Although Parks had devoted hundreds of hours of time working on cases of murders and rapes of African Americans that had come to the attention of the NAACP, her efforts had come to naught. It was not until Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man on December 1, 1955, that she made history. Her act sparked similar actions all over the South and throughout the rest of the country. The Montgomery bus boycott was organized, and African Americans refused to ride the Montgomery city buses until the law of segregation was abolished. Around the United States, sit-ins and marches were organized to support the cause of integration and racial equality.

Life’s Work

All of the attention surrounding Parks made it difficult for her to secure a job in Montgomery. She and her husband relocated to Detroit, Michigan, where they experienced years of financial struggle. Parks later worked as an administrative assistant for U.S. congressman John F. Conyers.

In 1987, Parks founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development, in memory of her husband. She consistently believed that each person could make a difference, and that children are the key to future success. The institute offers a Pathway to Freedom Program, which affords youngsters ages eleven and twelve a chance to meet with national leaders and to participate in Freedom Rides.

On April 21, 1998, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at the arrest site of Parks for the Rosa Parks Library and Museum. Troy State University hosts the Rosa Parks Museum and Library, which opened on December 1, 2000, the forty-fifth anniversary year of her arrest. Parks attended the state of the union address in January, 1999, and received a standing ovation when President Bill Clinton acknowledged her. In 2000, Parks met with Pope John Paul II in St. Louis and read a statement, asking for racial healing.

In an effort to share her story, Parks wrote four books, which detailed her life and her arrest. The books are Rosa Parks: My Story (1992), Quiet Strength (1994), Dear Mrs. Parks: A Dialogue with Today’s Youth (1996), and I Am Rosa Parks (1997). Parks received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for the book Dear Mrs. Parks.

Parks appeared in the television series Touched by an Angel; she received the NAACP Image Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance. Another historical moment was the filming of The Rosa Parks Story, which took place in Montgomery, Alabama, in 2001 and aired February 24, 2002, on the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS).

On February 4, 2005, when Parks turned ninety-two years old, students from Detroit Public Schools reenacted Parks’s arrest. She enjoyed the performance and marveled at the excellent work of the youngsters. This was another example of how her role in history impacts future generations.

Parks died of natural causes on October 24, 2005. For two days her casket was placed in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. This honor is given to presidents when they die. People came from all over the country to pay respects to the mother of the Civil Rights movement.

Significance

When Parks refused, quietly and calmly, to give up her seat on a city bus in deference to a white man, she gave impetus to the Civil Rights movement. Parks was the first living person to be honored with a state holiday. In Michigan, the first Monday following February 4 is designated Mrs. Rosa Parks Day. Michigan also honored her with the Rosa L. Parks Learning Center, which opened in 1998. The center, located at Botsford Commons, a senior community in Michigan, encourages young people to provide computer instruction to senior citizens. This successful program has built strong relationships across generations. Parks participated, and she was part of the first graduating class on November 24, 1998. Parks received the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999, a prestigious honor that prominent leaders, such as George Washington and Nelson Mandela, have received. Parks touched many with her quiet nature, her humble personality, and her dignified carriage.

Bibliography

Ashby, Ruth. Rosa Parks: Freedom Rider. New York: Sterling, 2008. This is the courageous story of Parks and how she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a city bus.

Bjornlund, Lydia D. Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Detroit: Lucent Books, 2007. A detailed account of the Montgomery bus boycott, from the beginning challenges to victory. A chronological chart is included.

DeGezelle, Terri. Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights Movement. Chicago: Heinemann Library, 2000. A book for young readers summarizes the life of Parks and her involvement in civil rights.

Kohl, Herbert R. She Would Not Be Moved: How We Tell the Story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. New York: New Press, 2005. An account of Rosa Parks and her role in the Civil Rights movement.

Parks, Rosa. Quiet Strength. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1994. Parks gives her version of the day that launched the Montgomery bus boycott. She said she had no intention of being arrested; she just spoke up for herself.

Schraff, Anne E. Rosa Parks: Tired of Giving In. Berkeley Heights, N.J.: Enslow, 2005. The book presents a look at Parks, the Montgomery bus boycott, and the moment that changed history.