Rosa Parks, born on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama, became a pivotal figure in the American civil rights movement. In December 1955, she made history when she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. At the time, the city had a law requiring African Americans to sit in the back of the bus and give up their seats if white passengers needed them. Parks’ act of defiance was not the first of its kind, but it sparked a powerful response. Her arrest led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a mass protest organized by local civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr. The boycott lasted for over a year, resulting in a Supreme Court ruling that declared bus segregation unconstitutional.
Parks’ bravery and peaceful protest made her a symbol of resistance to racial injustice. Despite facing hardship and threats, she continued to advocate for civil rights throughout her life. Parks moved to Detroit in 1957, where she worked as a secretary and continued her activism. In her later years, she became known as the “mother of the civil rights movement” and was honored with numerous awards, including the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Rosa Parks’ courage and commitment to equality remain an inspiration, and she is remembered as a key figure in the struggle for racial justice in America.
