As one of the crucial distinguished figures within the American Civil Rights Motion, Rosa Parks’ unwavering dedication and pivotal function in difficult racial segregation has solidified her place in historical past. Her brave act of defiance on a Montgomery bus in 1955 continues to encourage and educate folks worldwide concerning the significance of equality and social justice. Let’s replicate on some key Rosa Parks information that spotlight her exceptional life and contributions.
Essential Rosa Parks Details
Rosa Parks was born in 1913.
Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama.
Supply: Library of Congress
Rosa Parks’ grandparents had been former slaves.
She got here from a household of robust advocates for racial equality. She even witnessed her father standing exterior with a shotgun because the Ku Klux Klan marched by.
Supply: The Nationwide Structure Heart
Rosa Parks attended the Montgomery Industrial College for Ladies.
Her household moved to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1914.
Supply: Library of Congress
Rosa Parks married Raymond A. Parks in 1932.
They remained married till his demise in 1977.
Supply: Library of Congress
Rosa Parks graduated from highschool.
Rosa Parks earned her diploma in 1933 when lower than 7% of African Individuals graduated from highschool. She had dropped out to look after her dying grandmother, however after getting married, her husband inspired her to return and end college.
Supply: Library of Congress
Rosa Parks was the secretary of the NAACP in Montgomery, Alabama.
This required Parks to journey all through Alabama, interviewing victims of discrimination and people who had witnessed lynchings. The NAACP chosen her for the function in 1943.
Supply: Library of Congress
Rosa Parks grew to become an advisor for the NAACP Youth Council.
In 1949, Parks inspired youth members to take a look at books from the whites-only libraries to problem the Jim Crow system.
Supply: Stanford College
The police arrested Rosa Parks for refusing to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger.
It occurred on December 1, 1955. She grew to become the second lady to be arrested for doing so after Claudette Colvin.
Supply: Library of Congress
Rosa Parks had a historical past with the bus driver who had her arrested.
Parks had prevented bus driver James Blake since 1943 when he’d pushed off with out letting her pay her fare. She had been actively avoiding him however didn’t discover him that day. “If I had been paying attention,” she stated, “I wouldn’t even have gotten on that bus.”
Supply: The Historical past Channel
Rosa Parks helped set up a boycott of the Montgomery bus system.
On the day of Parks’ trial, folks protested by skipping the bus. As an alternative, they walked and located different methods to get to work. This impressed the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted for 381 days. In the long run, the Supreme Courtroom declared segregation on public transit unconstitutional.
Supply: U.S. Nationwide Archives
The police arrested Rosa Parks a second time.
On February 22, 1956, 114 protesters, together with Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., had been arrested for difficult bus segregation legal guidelines. The high-profile arrest put a media highlight on the boycott, which in the end helped the motion.
Supply: Equal Justice Initiative
Rosa Parks misplaced her job.
Parks labored as a seamstress on the Montgomery Truthful division retailer however was fired after her arrest. Her employers claimed, nevertheless, that it was not due to the boycott. Her husband misplaced his job as properly.
Supply: The Historical past Channel
Rosa Parks and her husband acquired demise threats.
After receiving countless telephone calls and demise threats, Rosa and Raymond Parks, alongside together with her mom, moved to Detroit in 1957.
Supply: Nationwide Park Service
Rosa Parks remained concerned in activism all through her life.
Parks participated within the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and the Selma-to-Montgomery March, and she or he labored in Congressman John Conyers’ district workplace and even served on the board of Deliberate Parenthood.
Supply: Library of Congress
The NAACP awarded Rosa Parks the Spingarn Medal.
Rosa Parks was awarded the Spingarn Medal in 1979. As described when this award was based, this honor is “the man or woman of African descent and American citizenship who shall have made the highest achievement during the preceding year or years in any honorable field.”
Supply: Britannica
Rosa Parks based the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute.
In 1987, the institute was established “to carry on the lifework of Rosa Parks in youth development and civil rights education/advocacy.”
Supply: Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute
Rosa Parks was a broadcast creator.
Parks co-authored Rosa Parks: My Story, Quiet Energy: The Religion, the Hope, the Coronary heart of a Lady Who Modified a Nation, and Pricey Mrs. Parks: A Dialogue With At this time’s Youth.
Supply: Library of Congress
Rosa Parks filed a lawsuit in opposition to hip-hop duo Outkast.
After Outkast launched a music titled “Rosa Parks,” Parks argued defamation and false promoting. The 1998 observe included the lyrics “Ah-ha, hush that fuss. Everybody move to the back of the bus.” Outkast defended themselves citing the First Modification. The case was settled seven years later when the group agreed to assist create academic applications for youth with the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute.
Supply: Biography
President Clinton awarded Rosa Parks the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
President Invoice Clinton awarded Parks this highest honor given by america govt department.
Supply: Clinton Digital Library
Congress awarded Rosa Parks the Congressional Gold Medal.
That is the U.S. legislative department’s highest award.
Supply: Library of Congress
Rosa Parks was the primary lady to lie in honor within the nation’s Capitol Rotunda.
Following her demise on October 24, 2005, in Detroit, Michigan, Rosa Parks lie in honor within the Rotunda of the Capitol. She was the primary lady and solely the second individual of shade to obtain that honor.
Supply: U.S. Capitol Guests Heart