Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (1913–2005) was an American civil rights pioneer. This “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement” was an icon of aggravated African-Americans who suffered disgraceful humiliations in a racist society.
On December 1, 1955, tired after a long day’s work as a seamstress, Parks refused to give up her seat on a crowded city bus in Montgomery, Alabama, to accommodate a white man. At that time, her defiant gesture violated a law, and she was promptly arrested.
Parks’s arrest touched off one of the most notable occurrences of mass action in American history. Several influential black leaders, including the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., initiated a mass boycott of the public transportation system. For 381 days, black citizens boycotted the public transportation system, eventually forcing the desegregation of city transportation all over the United States.
Although Parks was not the first black, nor the first woman, to refuse to give up her seat, Parks’s defiant action became a landmark event in the civil rights movement because it was the first to be used as a test case by the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to fight for civil rights and socio-economic equality. In 1957, the Supreme Court ruled that the segregation of buses and public facilities was unconstitutional.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Rosa Parks
I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free… and other people would be also free.
—Rosa Parks
Topics: Freedom
I was determined to achieve the total freedom that our history lessons taught us we were entitled to, no matter what the sacrifice.
—Rosa Parks
Topics: Freedom
I am leaving this legacy to all of you … to bring peace, justice, equality, love and a fulfillment of what our lives should be. Without vision, the people will perish, and without courage and inspiration, dreams will die—the dream of freedom and peace.
—Rosa Parks
Topics: Activism
All I was doing was trying to get home from work.
—Rosa Parks
Topics: Work
I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.
—Rosa Parks
Topics: Win, Fear, Courage, Decide
My only concern was to get home after a hard day’s work.
—Rosa Parks
Topics: Work
Each person must live their life as a model for others.
—Rosa Parks
Topics: Life
I’m tired of being treated like a second-class citizen.
—Rosa Parks
Topics: Attitude
The only tired I was, was tired of giving in.
—Rosa Parks
Topics: Attitude
I was just trying to let them know how I felt about being treated as a human being.
—Rosa Parks
Topics: Virtue
she stood up by sitting down. I’m only standing here because of her.
—Rosa Parks
Topics: Ideals
Victory or defeat? It is the slogan of all-powerful militarism in every belligerent nation. And yet, what can victory bring to the proletariat?
—Rosa Parks
Topics: Defeat
was that I was a person with dignity and self-respect, and I should not set my sights lower than anybody else just because I was black.
—Rosa Parks
Topics: Self Respect
Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.
—Rosa Parks
Topics: Action
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