Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks Biography
Although the Civil War had officially ended over 60 years before she was born, Rosa Parks was an American civil rights activist during a particularly tense time in US history, when equality had not yet been fully achieved. She was born Rosa Louise McCauley in Tuskegee, Alabama, on February 4, 1913, and has been referred to as the first lady of civil rights, as well as the mother of the freedom movement.
Rosa Parks was African-American, with Scots-Irish and Native American great-grandparents. Her parents separated when she was young, so she and her little brother, Sylvester, were raised by her maternal grandparents. Until she was eleven, Rosa attended rural schools in Alabama, later taking courses as a student at the Industrial School for Girls. After that, she attended a school operated by the Alabama State Teachers College for Negroes, which was a secondary education institution. Unfortunately, due to the poor health of her mother and grandmother, she couldn’t continue her education, as it fell to her to take care of them.
In Alabama at the turn of the 20th century, the former Confederate states – including Alabama – had implemented the “Jim Crow Laws” which forced racial segregation, and left little opportunities for success for African-Americans. White and black people, even as children, were not allowed to ride the bus together, and the African-American students had to walk to school.
Growing up, Rosa was disturbed by the inequality in her society and was often bullied by white children in her neighbourhood, although she would not accept it without a fight.
In 1932, Rosa was married to Raymond Parks. He was a barber and a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, or NAACP. Rosa held several different jobs, including domestic work and a hospital aide. Her husband encouraged her to finish high school, and in 1933, she graduated, making her one of the less than 7% of African Americans who had a high school diploma at the time. Although the Jim Crow Laws discriminated against African-American voters, she tried to register three times, and on the third time succeeded.
In 1943, Rosa Parks became very active in the civil rights movement and joined the NAACP as secretary. Referring to this time, she said that she was the only woman there and they needed a secretary, and she didn’t want to say no. Rosa Parks not only had to toil for her rights as an African-American but also as a woman at a time when it was viewed that a woman’s place was in the kitchen.
For a while, she worked as a housekeeper and seamstress at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, for Clifford and Virginia Durr, a white couple. Since the Durrs were very liberal politically, they became friends with Rosa and helped sponsor her attendance at the Highlander Folk School, an educational facility for activist workers seeking racial equality.
Montgomery had implemented a city law in 1900 that allowed for the segregation of bus passengers by race. Although the actual law stipulated that no one would have to move or give up their seat if other seats were available, over time, the law began to give way to custom. Because of this, the bus drivers started to make black passengers move when white-only seats were available. The buses had sections where ‘coloured’ people sat in the back, and white people sat in the front of the bus, even though most of those who rode were black. Many African Americans were disturbed by this inequality and had complained for decades.
One day in 1943, Rosa paid the fare and started to board the bus, but as she did so, the driver, James Blake, told her to follow the rules and board the bus from the back door. Instead of complying, Rosa left the vehicle and waited for another one to come along, determined not to ride with Blake again. This resulted in her walking in the rain.
On 1 December 1955, she paid her bus fare after a long day at work and sat in the first row of the back, which was reserved for blacks in the coloured section. At first, she didn’t see that the driver was James Blake, who had made her walk in the rain 12 years earlier. As the ride progressed, whites-only seats filled up. The driver noticed that there were a few white passengers standing, as the front had been completely filled. Blake decided to move the coloured section and make the black passengers give up their seats to the white passengers. Three out of four who had to stand complied, but the one who did not, was Rosa Parks. The driver insisted, “Why don’t you just stand up?” to which she responded, “I don’t think I should have to stand up.” Although Rosa was very reasonable and calm, Blake called the police to have her arrested.
Rosa was taken to jail but was bailed out by some members of the Montgomery Chapter of the NAACP. An Alabama State College Professor, Joanne Robinson, conferred with the NAACP president regarding Rosa’s treatment. They stayed up all that night copying over 35,000 handbills about a bus boycott. On December 4, 1955, plans for the Montgomery Bus Boycott were announced. African American church members all agreed to participate in the boycott with the aim of achieving fair treatment, forcing companies to hire black drivers, and implementing a first-come, first-served basis for bus seating. Even the next day, through the rain, the African-American community continued their boycott.
A meeting was held to discuss strategies for continuing the boycott effort, and the Montgomery Improvement Association was established. They elected Martin Luther King Jr. as their president, who, at the time, was relatively new to Montgomery, young, and a church minister. In 1956, nearly a year later, the Montgomery bus system was officially integrated.
Rosa continued to be a civil rights activist as long as she was able to, even as old age approached. Rosa Parks died on October 24, 2005, at the age of 92.
She has been awarded and honoured both during her lifetime and posthumously, and continues to inspire many, leaving a legacy of hoped-for peaceful equality.
Rosa Parks FAQ
Rosa Parks was an African American civil rights activist best known for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955, a pivotal moment that sparked the modern Civil Rights Movement.
Her arrest led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a year-long protest led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which ultimately resulted in a Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional.
Yes, Parks was already active in civil rights causes, serving as secretary of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP and working to support cases involving racial injustice.
Rosa Parks is widely honoured as the “mother of the Civil Rights Movement.” Her courage, quiet resistance, and lifelong dedication to justice have made her a global symbol of dignity and equality.
[this article originally appeared on 5MinuteBiographies.com on 8 November 2018]
