Rosa+Parks

=//Rosa Parks // = toc

Rosa Parks participated in acts to end segregation. She refused to surrender her bus seat over to a white man, so that he could sit in her spot. Along with the bus incident, Parks was a motivational speaker, leader, and a woman who helped segregation be declared “unconstitutional” on November 13th, 1956.



__Parks’ Childhood__
Rosa Louise Parks was born on February 4th, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama and raised on her grandparents farm in Pine Level, Alabama. She grew up without a father in her life, but lived with her grandparents, mother, and younger brother. Parks’ grandparents played a role on her outlook in life. Her grandfather resented white people because he was a former slave. He was never able to forgive the white people for the misery he was put through by his slave owner. Often, the Klu Klux Klan passed through the Parks’ farm. Her grandfather would stand at the door with a shot gun in his hand, protecting his land and family. Parks’ own attitude towards white people resembled her grandmother’s calm and peaceful approach when it came to defending herself.

Along with following after her grandmothers footsteps, religion also helped Parks deal with issues in a peaceful and nonviolent manner. Rosa Parks belonged to the African Methodist Episcopal Church, also known as the “Freedom Church”. She took pride in her attendance there.

Parks didn’t attend public school until she was 12 years old when her mother decided to send her to the Industrial School for Black Girls in Montgomery, Alabama to receive better education. In 1920, the school had been set on fire twice as hate crimes and later was forced to shut down. Due to the Jim Crow Laws, Rosa was sent to an all black school close to her home on the farm. The Jim Crow Laws were set in play from 1876-1965 in the southern states, stating that white and black people must be segregated in public places. Blacks must drink from separate drinking fountains, use separate bathrooms, and eat at separate lunch counters. Parks and other black children had to walk to school because they didn’t receive the busing privileges like the white children did. When Rosa was 16 years old, she dropped out of high school to take care of her sick grandmother back on the farm.

__Parks’ early adulthood__
Rosa married Raymond Parks in Pine Level in December of 1932. Shortly after their marriage, they relocated to a house in Montgomery, Alabama. Rosa worked as a seamstress and cleaned houses. Raymond was a barber and also had ties with the NAACP. Raymond encouraged Rosa to go back to high school, and when Rosa was 20 years old she earned her high school diploma. Back then, only one in every ten blacks finished high school with a diploma.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was a special interest group who defended civil right cases, lead rallies, and had an ultimate goal to end segregation. Rosa Parks decided to join the NAACP and she worked as the secretary, organizer, researcher, and historian for them. Parks was most interested in voting rights for black people. “Colored” people had the right to vote, but the registration process for a colored person was very difficult. Parks didn’t pass the exam on her first attempt in 1943. On her seconded attempt in 1943, she never made it to the registration location because she was kicked off a bus for the first time. She refused to reenter the bus from “colored” door, so the white driver ordered Parks to get off the bus. If that same driver was driving the bus, Parks vowed she would not get on, rather she just wait for the next bus. Finally, on her third try in 1945, she was legally registered to vote, but was charged with an outrageous polling fee of $16.50.

During the late 1940s, the NAACP and Parks lead many youth council groups. The Parks’ enjoyed guiding children, but due to medical reason they were incapable of having of their own. In 1949, Rosa Parks had to quit her position in the NAACP to return home to care for her ailing mother. Parks was nominated by Virginia Durr to attend a program called Highlander, where she earned the chance to travel to different schools across the U.S. on a 10 day tour to give students hopeful speeches. Parks’ motivation to end segregation was gaining strength and her most famous bus ride was coming.

__December 1st, 1955__
On December 1st, 1955 one of the most well known bus rides took place. When Parks boarded the bus, she was busy daydreaming about other things so she failed to recognize the driver that afternoon. The bus driver was James Blake, he was the driver that had kicked Parks off the bus 12 years prior in 1943. Parks remained calm, paid her ten cents, and proceeded back to find a seat. She noticed the seats in the “colored” section of the bus were completely full. There were a few open seats in the neutral section where either blacks or whites were allowed to sit, so Parks quickly sat down in a neutral seat next to another black man. A law in Montgomery claimed that no black person was allowed to be seated in the same row with a white person. When a white man got on the bus, the problem arrived. The bus driver, James Blake, came back and demanded Rosa and the 3 other black people to get out of their seats. The others got up, but Parks sat. The bus driver threatened to call the police if she did not get up, yet Parks remained seated. The police were called and Parks was arrested. She was placed in jail and was charged with breaking the segregation laws. After 3 hours in jail, 2 of Parks’ friends from the NAACP, Clifford Durr and Nixon, paid the $100 fine to bail her out. Parks was given Monday, December 5th, 1955 as her trial day. That evening, Parks went home with the members of the NAACP to think of their next move.

__The Bus Boycott__
“Support Mrs. Parks- Stay off the buses!” read one of the posters made by the MIA (Montgomery Improvement Association) and the NAACP. The NAACP, the MIA, and Parks requested that all of the black people temporarily not ride the bus. The next day, not one black person rode the bus. They walked, biked, or took taxis. Martin Luther King Jr. was the leader of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The boycott lasted for 381 days.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">During this time, Parks was found guilty for breaking the segregation laws, and had to pay $14, but she was glad she was found guilty, that way she could bring her case to the higher courts.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">__Browder vs. Gayle__
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">In 1896 the Plessy vs. Ferguson case in the Supreme Court took place, the courts ruled declaring “colored” people to have “separate but equal” rights as anyone else does. In 1954, the Brown vs. Board case was brought to the Supreme Court because schools for colored children were separated, but they were definitely not equal. The result of the Brown vs. Board case established that segregation based on skin color was “unconstitutional”. In February of 1956, the Browder vs. Gayle suit was filed in the U.S. District Courts. Parks was one of the woman who supported the case and hoped that bus segregation would be declared “unconstitutional”. On November, 13th, 1956, the United States Court favored the blacks and declared that segregation on buses was indeed “unconstitutional”. The boycott didn’t end then, it wasn’t until December, 20th, 1956 when the Supreme Court declared buses must be desegregated and more integrated. The boycott was over, and many blacks got the freedom they deserved!media type="youtube" key="jJ1OO5iBWCQ" height="251" width="339" align="right"

=<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">__Rosa Parks Analysis__ =

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Rosa Parks earned the title “the Mother of the Civil Rights movement” for many of her courageous, yet humble efforts to stand up for what she believed was right. Parks had witnessed unfair treatments for the Blacks and for far too long, she just sat back and watched it happen. In 1955, she had had enough and she took a stand. Without Rosa Parks’ accomplishments, the United States would not be as integrated as it is today.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Rosa Parks biggest motivation to end segregation was seeing the pain it put many Black people through. Emmitt Till was one boy who Rosa looked up to, and he was a prime reason Rosa Parks took her stand. Emmitt Till was a 14 year old African American boy who was brutally murdered on August 20th, 1955 in Mississippi. He was accused by a white woman of flirty with her in a public store. In the 1950s people would automatically believe the white female over the black male, so Emmitt Till was lynched. Rosa Parks was apart of the NAACP at that time, and after hearing about the case she was extremely upset and angry. Many people believe the Emmitt Till case was the start of the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s. Parks decided she no longer would live by the Jim Crow laws, so she would be taking a stand even if it costed her own life.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Even though Emmitt Till influenced Parks desires to end segregation, her interest in civil rights started many years before, it began when Parks was only ten years old! One summer day Parks was walking on the sidewalk in a local neighborhood when a rude, white boy on his roller skates pushed her off the sidewalk and out of his way. She pushed him back, and thought “this is no more your sidewalk, then it is mine.” From an early age and on, Rosa Parks knew what was fair and she wanted that fairness to be spread around the whole United States.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The second time Rosa Parks stood up for herself in public, was in 1943. In 1943, Parks was on a bus when she was asked to reenter using the “colored” doors. Parks’ response was “Why should I? I am already on the bus, what sense does it make to get off just to get back on through different doors…?”. That made James Blake, the bus driver, furious so he kicked her off his bus.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The next bus incident 12 years later with the same bus driver, Rosa Parks decided she wasn’t going to let this man tell her what to do twice. That is why she remained sitting until the police escorted her off the bus. When Rosa was asked about the Montgomery Bus Ride in 1955 and why she didn’t get up she told everyone she was tired. “She sighed as she realized she was tired. Not tired from work but tired of putting white people first. Tired of stepping off sidewalks to let white people pass, tired of eating at separate lunch counters and learning at separated schools. She was tired of “colored” entrances, “colored” balconies, “colored” drinking fountains, and “colored” taxis. She was tired of getting somewhere first and being waited on last. Tired of “separate” and definitely tired of “not equal”…”. Because of Rosa Parks tiredness, segregation on buses became illegal.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Rosa Parks was close with civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr. He led the Black population in the Montgomery Bus Boycott right after Parks was arrested. Both of them inspired each other to keep fighting for the end of segregation. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his well-known speech, ‘I Have a Dream…’ Parks was in the crowd listening to him. King and Parks became a team fighting for their common dream: no more separation based on skin color. Their hard work and determination paid off in the end and both of them should not be forgotten. In 1968, when Martin Luther King Jr. got assassinated, Rosa Parks was devastated. She said “Today we have lost a National Hero, and a dear friend of mine”. She grieved for many weeks after his death.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Rosa Parks was a woman who did unthinkable things for the Untied States. She received many awards along with her title as the “mother of the civil rights movement”. In 1983, Rosa ended up in the Michigan’s Hall of Fame. In 1944, she won the Nobel Peace Prize award and then in 1996, President Clinton awarded her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That is the highest honor that can be given to a citizen in the United States government. In 1999, she was given the Congressional Gold Medal, which is the highest award given in the legislative branch. In 2000, Rosa Parks was rated number twenty in the “Times Magazine” for the top most influential people of the 20th century. In 2001, Montgomery dedicated their museum and library to her. After her death in 2005, Parks was the first African American woman to lie in the state at the Capitol Rotunda. President Bush said; "By placing her statue in the heart of the nation's Capitol, we commemorate her work for a more perfect union, and we commit ourselves to continue to struggle for justice for every American."

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Before Rosa Parks death, she was asked is whether or not the United States was moving fast enough in the right direction to overcome segregation completely, Parks’ reply was “We still have a long way to go, we still have many obstacles and many challenges to face. It's far from perfect, and it may never be, but I think as long as we do the best we can to improve conditions, then people will be benefited”. She also said that “Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.” Rosa Parks did impact the way we live today. There are still racist people in this world, but there are far more accepting people. No longer are people able to be discriminated by their skin colors at work. No longer are schools segregated. No longer are the front of buses designated for whites and the back for blacks. No longer are there Jim Crow Laws. There is integrated schools, integrated families, integrated friends, and integrated buses. Skin color is no longer a reason to hate someone.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Rosa Parks passed away in 2005, she left a legacy behind that no one should forget nor should we take for granted. If it wasn’t for Rosa Parks and her continued perseverance to end segregation, where would we be today in the United States? Rosa Parks small steps toward equality for everyone pressed a lasting impact on all Americans today.



<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -0.5in; vertical-align: auto;"> __Works Cited__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -0.5in; vertical-align: auto;">Ashby, Ruth. //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Rosa Parks: Freedom Rider //. New York: Sterling Pub., 2008. Print. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -0.5in; vertical-align: auto;">Davis, Kenneth C., and Sergio Martinez. //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Don't Know Much about Rosa Parks //. New York: HarperCollinsPublishers, 2005. Print. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -0.5in; vertical-align: auto;">"Early Life of Rosa Parks - Rosa Parks Childhood." //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Rosa Parks Facts - Facts about Rosa Parks //. Web. 16 May 2011. <http://www.rosaparksfacts.com/rosa-parks-early-life-childhood.php>. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -0.5in; vertical-align: auto;">Giovanni, Nikki, and Bryan Collier. //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Rosa //. New York: Scholastic, 2006. Print. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -0.5in; vertical-align: auto;">McDonough, Yona Zeldis. //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Who Was Rosa Parks? // New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 2010. Print. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -0.5in; vertical-align: auto;">Miller, Connie Colwell. //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott //. Mankato, MN: Capstone, 2007. Print. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -0.5in; vertical-align: auto;">"Rosa Parks Biography." //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Biography.com //. Web. 16 May 2011. <http://www.biography.com/articles/Rosa-Parks-9433715?part=1>. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -0.5in; vertical-align: auto;">"Rosa Parks Hero File." //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Moreorless - Heroes and Killers of the 20th Century //. 13 Nov. 2005. Web. 16 May 2011. <http://www.moreorless.au.com/heroes/parks.html>. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Schraff, Anne E. //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Rosa Parks: "tired of Giving In" // Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 2005. Print. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -0.5in; vertical-align: auto;">Summer, L. S. //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Rosa Parks //. [Chanhassen, MN]: Child's World, 2000. Print.