Rosa Parks
Her 1955 bus refusal sparked the Montgomery bus boycott.
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Rosa Parks (1913–2005) was an American civil rights icon.
Lore & Background
Rosa Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama. She later moved to Montgomery and joined the city's chapter of the NAACP in 1943, serving as secretary. Custom in Montgomery required Black passengers to surrender seats in the front for white riders.
When Parks was arrested in 1955, local leaders sought a good legal test case. Gayle. Parks and other leaders faced harassment and legal obstacles. She was a Black power movement supporter and anti-apartheid activist.
Did You Know?
- Before Parks, several Black Montgomerians had refused to give up their seats, including 15-year-old Claudette Colvin.
- The Montgomery bus boycott lasted 381 days until bus segregation was ruled unconstitutional in Browder v. Gayle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Rosa Parks?
Rosa Parks was an American civil rights activist born in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1913. She became one of the most widely recognized figures in the fight against racial segregation in the United States.
What did Rosa Parks do on the bus in 1955?
Riding a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks declined to surrender her seat to a white passenger as Jim Crow segregation rules demanded. That single act of refusal became the spark that ignited a far broader challenge to the system of racial separation.
What was the Montgomery bus boycott?
It was a sustained, community-wide protest that launched in late 1955 after Parks's arrest, in which Black residents of Montgomery refused to ride city buses for more than a year. The boycott culminated in a federal court ruling that ended the city's mandated segregation on public transit.
When was Rosa Parks born and when did she die?
She was born on February 4, 1913, and passed away on October 24, 2005. She lived to the age of 92.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Rosa Parks (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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