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Rosa Parks
Forward
Rosa Parks’ courage to stand up for rights as a citizen of the USA inspires me to this day to stand up for the ideals of freedom & justice for all. Rosa Parks influenced many northerners & lawmakers to look squarely at the discrimination victimizing Alabama’s black people, and work to correct injustice.
A vital democracy requires citizen participation! The civil rights movement must continue today as immigrants, especially Arabs and Arab look-alikes are victims of prejudice. Washington Territory and Washington State were too long dominated by the Ku Klux Klan. We need active human rights advocates today to ensure dignity for all people.
Shawn Landden [& Chris Bowen]’s biography of Rosa Parks is recommended reading for all who aspire to a successful democracy today.
Introduction
Many people know Rosa Parks. She was an important part of the Civil Rights Movement; she was arrested for not giving up her seat on a public bus to a white man when he wanted it. She was sick of being pushed around and shamelessly showed it by demanding respect.
After this incident the black community started a major bus boycott. It started as a laughable situation that was expected to stop in a few days but ended as a serious problem for the Montgomery Bus Company. For over a year, the black community would not ride the buses. This ended when the U.S. Supreme Court declared bus segregation unconstitutional. This victory, without a doubt, made all African Americans confident to continue the Civil Rights Movement.
Even before Rosa's arrest, Montgomery's black leaders had been discussing a boycott from the buses. They used her arrest as "a spark to light the fire that is the boycott". That is why the name Rosa Parks will be remembered for years to come.
In this biography you will read about Rosa Parks' life before the boycott including her childhood, education, jobs, and ambitions. You will also learn about her life during the boycott, which will include her struggle toward her goals, and her life after the boycott, which will include her continuing work for civil rights.
I hope you learn many things about Rosa Parks and her life, in this Biography, and I hope you remember the name Rosa Parks for years to come.
Timeline
February 4, 1913 Rosa McCauley born in Tuskegee Alabama
1918 Enters school in Pine Level, Alabama
1924...
... middle of paper ...
..., in Washington, D.C., had designed this sculpture. Etched into this sculpture were the names of forty men and women who had been killed in the civil rights movement. On the rock there also lies these words from Dr. King:
“…until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Rosa was there when this memorial was established.
Rosa still lives on today, traveling more and working with her institute, the Rosa and Raymond Parks institute for Self Development, in hopes of sharing her mission with the world.
Bibliography
Internet
“Rosa Parks: The Woman Who Changed a Nation” http://www.grandtimes.com/rosa.html [Online] 28 March 2002
“The Life of Rosa Parks” http://www.tsum.edu/museum/parlsbio.htm [Online] 30 March 2002
“Rosa and Raymond Parks: Our history” http://www.rosaparkis.org/pages/background.html 30 March 2002
“Rosa and Raymond Parks: Programs” http://www.rosaparkis.org/pages/programs.html 30 March 2002
Books
Rosa Lee Parks with Jim Haskins Rosa Parks: My Story Broadway, New York, NY Scholastic Inc. ©1992 by Rosa Parks
Encyclopedia
“Parks, Rosa Lee” World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. Chicago: World Book: CD-ROM. ©2000
In conclusion, Rosa Parks was an outstanding hero that helped desegregate the city buses of Montgomery, Alabama. She gained a lot of fellow friendships and also became a civil right Activists. She earned a lot of respect and rewards for her actions of not giving her seat up. As you can see her life her hero story fits very well with Joseph Campbell’s stages of the hero’s
In 1955, and the years surrounding, many events took place during the Civil Rights Movement. Rosa Parks was one of few people who undertook courageous acts to make a difference in history. Her legacy lives on to this day in literature because of authors such as Douglas Brinkley. His book, Rosa Parks, describes her life and shows her accomplishments. Brinkley shows how Rosa Parks is a prime example of inspiration to people in his book, and is evidenced by his attitude in the excerpt, his choice of detail, and his textual reference.
Life - Rosa Parks was born only a month before world war one started in Europe on February 4, 1913. Parks mother worked as a school teacher in Tuskegee, Alabama. James McCauley, Rosa's dad was a carpenter. They lived in Tuskegee and owned farmland of their own. After Sylvester was born, Rosa's little brother, her father left them and went off to live in another town. He had been cheated out of his farmland by a white man and couldn't support the family any longer. Rosa her mother and her brother then moved to live with her grandparents on a farm in Pinelevel, which lay between Tuskegee and Montgomery, Alabama. It was a small plot of land, but it kept them all fed. From this point on Rosa was mainly brought up by her Grandparents with the assistance of her mother. Rosa gave up school when she came close to graduating, around the same time Rosa got married. Raymond Parks married Rosa McCauley December 18, 1932. He was a barber from Wedowee County, Alabama. He had little formal education but a thirst for knowledge. Her husband, Raymond Parks, encouraged her to finish her courses. In 1934 she received her diploma from Alabama State College. She was happy that she completed her education but had little hope of getting a better job. When Rosa had finished school she was lucky enough to get a job as a seamstress in a local sewing factory. Prior to the bus incident Rosa was still fighting. She had run-ins with bus drivers and was evicted from buses. Parks recalls the humiliation: "I didn't want to pay my fare and then go around the back door, because many times, even if you did that, you might not get on the bus at all. They'd probably shut the door, drive off, and leave you standing there."
Rosa Parks, with civil disobedience and support from the public, has become an icon for the Civil Rights movement and the change in segregation laws. In 1948, Rosa Parks made a statement that started a revolution, she didn’t get up.
Rosa Parks was an African American woman who was brave enough to stand up to the whites. Even though she went to jail for what she did, she believes she did the right thing. What Rosa had done on the bus started boycotts and created more and more activists. People wonder if Rosa Parks was raised to stand up for herself or if she was supposed to stay quiet. Looking at Rosa’s life and what happened on the bus and beyond, it can be concluded that she was taught to take pride in her race.
Rosa Parks was a member of the NAACP, lived in Montgomery Alabama, and rode the public bus system. In the south, during this time the buses were segregated which meant that black people had to ride in the back of the bus behind a painted line. White people entered the front of the bus and were compelled to sit in front of the painted line. Most buses at the time had more room for white riders who used the service less than the black ridership. Yet, they could not cross the line even if the seats in the front were empty (Brown-Rose, 2008). Rosa Parks made a bold statement when she sat in the “white section” of a Montgomery bus. She was asked to surrender her seat to a white man, but she did not move and was soon arrested. Her brave action started the Montgomery bus Boycott, with the help of the NAACP, none other than Dr. Martin Luther King’s leadership as part of the Montgomery Improvement Association. As its President, he was able spread the word quickly which brought national attention to the small town of Montgomery’s bus Boycott. The boycott was televised and brought so much attention that the United States Supreme Court ruled that segregation on public transportation was unconstitutional; a success spurring a more
...can by sparking the Civil Rights Movement. Her bus protest and the boycott she participated in was what made her so famous. Even after the bus protest and the boycott, Parks kept inspiring like with her book she wrote about her experiences in her life. Rosas’ death was a tragic one for all Americans because she had played such a huge role in the U.S., helping change many people’s lives and changing the future of our society.
Rosa Parks was an African American woman born in Tuskegee, Alabama February 4 1913. She grew up in Montgomery which is in the southern United States in Alabama. Alabama is one of the states with large African-American population. Her full name was Rosa Louise McCauley and her parents’ names were Leona and James McCauley. Leona, Rosa’s mother, was a teacher and James, her father, was a carpenter. She also had a younger brother named Sylvester. However Rosa’s parents separated while she was still young and she, her mother and brother went to live on her grandparent’s farm in the nearby town of Pine Level. Rosa attended the local school for African-American children where her mother was a teacher. Park’s family really valued education, in addition to her mother being a teacher, the family believed in freed...
“I’d just like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free and wanted other people to be also free” (Modigliani). The words Rosa Parks used to describe her ultimate hopes for the legacy she would leave behind are simple yet powerful. The fight for Civil Rights during the 1950s and 60s was hard fought, though the results were long overdue. Rosa Parks, like many others, experienced discrimination for much of her life, however when she acted against it the nation listened; she had initiated the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Rosa Parks influenced the Civil Rights movement by working to peacefully achieve equality. This peaceful approach would prove to be successful, as the work and influence she had would be key in the outcome of the Civil Rights movement.
Rosa Parks continued to serve in the civil rights until she died on October 24, 2005. She died in Detroit, Michigan and was ninety-two years old. Rosa was a great symbol of the civil rights movement. She was a very respected woman, but some people still didn't like what she was doing. Rosa never let the disapproval of other get to her and kept fighting for what she wanted. She affected the society we live in today. Without the protests by Parks, which brought attention to segregation on buses, blacks might not have accomplished the desegregation on the buses. We still honor her for all the accomplishments she had made in everyone lives. Her courage to stand up for what she thinks is right, inspires many young people in this world today. Without her help and support, things today would be different.
Rosa Parks was an African-American women who was tired of being treated differently just because of her skin color. She was a very kind woman who fought against all the laws and segregation. Rosa was born in 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama and died in 2005 in Detroit, Michigan (RM, plc. "Rosa (Louise McCauley) Parks"4). She did something that broke the law at the time but it changed this place and its keeps being an impact to everyone now in present days (Armentrout, DavidArmentrout, Patricia. "ALABAMA: Rosa Parks."1 ). She was on a Boycott bus on December 1, 1955 when the bus filled up and the African-Americans were supposed to give their seat up to the Americans but Rosa didn’t (Badertscher 1). She was 42 at this time so she knew what she was doing and she decided to do it anyways ("Rosa Parks"1). When she refused to give her seat up they ended up taking her to jail because she was breaking a law at the moment (Badertscher 7). She went to jail for something unfair, she was tired of getting no respect and treated like if she nobody or nothing in this world.
Rosa Parks was a part of many Civil Rights Movement acts. “After attending Alabama State Teachers College, Rosa settled in Montgomery, with Raymond Parks who was her husband at that time. The couple joined the NAACP and worked quietly for quite a few years to African-Americans segregation in the south.
The civil rights movement was introduced to national headlines in the 1950s and 60s but in places like Georgia began as early as the 40s. In Georgia groups of African Americans were organized to try and vote. People like Thomas Brewer “a medical doctor in Columbus, organized Primus Kings and several [groups] who attempted to vote in the July 4, 1944, primary but were turned away”( Stephan Tuck). Those events took place before the Brown vs. Board Of Education trial in 1954, even more protest sprung up after the case. Even before the 1940s, African Americans were not treated as equals in society.
Rosa Parks, a civil rights activist, is known for the courageous act in the 1950’s. Parks was born on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama and passed on October 24, 2005. However, her brave act did not go unnoticed as she was “… the first woman to lie in honor at the Capitol Rotunda”[ CITATION The181 \l 1033 ]. Parks faced racial discrimination, segregation, and hardship. Rosa Parks was arrest and charged with not giving up her seat for someone who is not of color. Rosa Parks’s bravery not only play a great part of history, she received many accolades and is used as a great example of what is courage in school. Her actions were based on factors that help her succeed. These factors are parts of what Gladwell talks about. According to Gladwell’s ideas, Parks’s success is attributed to the community,
...ledge concerning her struggle. So long, I only knew of the boycott for the history books point of view, but this book broadens my awareness. Rosa Parks: My Story allows you to become familiar with Rosa personally. It introduces you to her as a little black girl who just want to be treated right. Rosa was much more before the bus boycott, and even so much more after.