Rosa Parks Day
By: Aimee Malgapo
Rosa Parks is a remarkable African-American woman widely recognized for her brave and impactful work as a civil rights activist. She was born on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks took a stand for racial equality when she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She lived in an era when segregation was still practiced. Segregation is the act of separating or isolating a group of people with differing characteristics. During that time, Rosa was expected to offer her seat to a white man and take a seat at the back of the bus, but she refused and was arrested.
Her arrest for violating segregation laws led to a 381-day boycott of the Montgomery bus system by African Americans. About 70% of the people who took the Montgomery bus system were African American, and this boycott led to a deep cut in the bus system’s revenue. The boycott, organized by leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., eventually led to a Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional. Rosa Parks was not the only woman to refuse to give up her seat. Claudette Colvin was dragged off a bus at the age of fifteen. Mary Louise Smith-Ware was also arrested in Alabama for not giving up her seat. Because Rosa Parks was the secretary for the notable NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), she was able to get support for the Mongomery Bus System Boycott. For her role in igniting the successful campaign, Parks became known as the “mother of the civil rights movement.”
Rosa Parks remained a passionate individual working hard to continue making a difference in the civil rights movement. In 1987, she co-founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development, an organization aimed at providing career training for young people and offering teenagers an opportunity to learn about the history of the Civil Rights movement. Some of the paramount awards she received include the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1996) and the Congressional Gold Medal (1999). In 1992, Jim Haskins assisted her with writing her autobiography, Rosa Parks: My Story. When Rosa Parks died at age 92 on October 24, 2005, she became the first woman in the nation’s history to lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol. This recognition is granted to private citizens who have performed a great service to this country.
Rosa Parks Day is a day to honor and remember an incredible woman's contribution to the Civil Rights movement in the United States and her stand against racial segregation. This day is a reminder of the importance of individuals, especially women, in shaping history through acts of courage, leadership, and a commitment to justice and equality. Parks' story is a beacon for those advocating for female empowerment and serves as a testament to the transformative power of one person's actions.
Sources:
Rosa Parks | Biography, Accomplishments, Quotes, Family, & Facts | Britannica
