“Long ago I set my mind to be a free person and not to give in to fear. I always felt that it was my right to defend myself if I could.” Rosa once stated (Huso 3.) Rosa Parks was a hero in the fight for Civil Rights. Parks was known as the “Mother of the Movement” in the Civil Rights movement. She was an active member of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People. She was arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat on an Alabama bus. Shortly after she was jailed and fined for her refusal to get out of her seat, African Americans went on strike and boycotted the Montgomery public transit system, and practically bankrupted the company. It was called The Montgomery Boycott.
Rosa said, “After so many years of oppression and being victim of the mistreatment that my people had suffered, not giving up my seat- and whatever I had to face after not giving up my seat- was not important” (Huso 6). A white man boarded the bus and the white section was full. Rosa Parks and three other African Americans were told to get up and stand so that the front seats of the colored section could be added to the white section, so that the man could sit. The other three complied. But Rosa refused to move. “She remained seated and defended herself calmly as her grandfather had taught her” (Huso 8).
Rosa was determined to not give in to her fear. She was courageous and incredibly brave to have stuck up for herself and her race. It shows that she helped out the Civil Rights Movement, and started a whole new level in the movement. She caused a boycott of the public transit system after being arrested. Rosa Parks was a member of the NAACP and they bailed her out of jail and then made her a plaintiff in their case for their fight fo...
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...). Rosa had respect for herself, and knew the difference between right and wrong. The way her race was being treated was wrong, and she knew something needed to be done. And if no one else was going to make a stand, by simply not standing at all, then it was going to be her.
Works Cited
Huso, Deborah. “Sitting down to take a stand: Rosa Parks’ actions advanced the fight for civil rights.” Success Sept. 2011: 82+. General OneFile. Web. 30 Apr. 2014
“Rosa Parks.” UXL Biographies. Detroit: U*X*L, 2011. Student Resources in Context. Web. 22 May 2014.
Stabler, Scott. "Parks, Rosa (1913—)." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 4. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. 15-16. Student Resources in Context. Web. 22 May 2014.
Woo, Elaine. “Rosa Parks: 1913-2005.” Los Angeles, CA): A1+. 2005. SIRS Renaissance. Web. 30 Apr. 2014
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 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
During this time period, Rosa Parks was known as “The Mother of the Civil Rights Movement”. Rosa Parks died on October 25, 2005 at age 92. Rosa parks felt that everyone should be free and everyone should have the same rights. Rosa Parks was able to read when she was little because she was born 50 years after slavery, in 1913. Her mother taught her to read when she was very little because she was a teacher (Interview with Rosa Parks). The school she went to was very strict about the way things were done. For example:
Racism and prejudice have been dominant issues in the United States for many years. Being such a major issue is society, racism is also a major theme in one of the best pieces of American Literature, To Kill A Mockingbird. People, particularly African Americans, have been denied basic human rights such as getting a fair trial, eating in a certain restaurant, or sitting in certain seats of public buses. However, in 1955 a woman named Rosa Parks took a stand, or more correctly took a seat, on a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She refused to give her seat to a white man and was arrested for not doing so. The reasons and consequences and the significance of her stand are comparable in many ways to Atticus Finch's stand in To Kill A Mockingbird. Rosa Parks worked for the equality of all people. She was elected secretary of the Montgomery branch of the National Advancement of Colored People, unsuccessfully attempted to vote many times to prove her point of discrimination, and had numerous encounters with bus drivers who discriminated against blacks. She was weary of the discrimination she faced due to the Jim Crow laws, which were laws were intended to prohibit "black[Americans] from mixing with white [Americans]" ("Jim Crow Laws"1). Also, due to the Jim Crow laws, blacks were required to give their seats to white passengers if there were no more empty seats. This is exactly what happened on December 1, 1955. On her way home from work, Rosa Parks refused to give her seat to a white man and was shortly arrested (National Women's Hall of Fame1). Even though she knew what the consequences were for refusing to leave her seat, she decided to take a stand against a wrong that was the norm in society. She knew that she would be arrested, yet she decided that she would try to make a change. Although her arrest would seem like she lost her battle, what followed would be her victory. Rosa Parks's stand was so significant that she is called the mother of the civil rights movement (National Women's Hall of Fame1). Her arrest served as a catalyst for a massive boycott for public busses. Led by Martin Luther King, for 381 days, African Americans carpooled, walked, or found other ways of transportation. Despite the harassment everyone involved in the movement faced, the boycott continued and was extremely successful.
"Rosa Parks Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com." Famous Biographies & TV Shows - Biography.com. Web. 05 Jan. 2012. .
Do you know why Rosa Parks is a hero? She helped a lot in this world and if it wasn’t for her our world would still be like in the old times. When she stated, “The only tired I was, was tired of giving in” (Parks cover), that’s when she decided to do something for her and her people. “When that happened, we black people were supposed to give up our seats to the whites. But I didn’t move”, this is how it all started (Parks pg. 1). Rosa Parks was a hero because she made change in the civil-rights movement, compelled to end segregation.
Viola Desmond and Rosa Parks were two everyday people living through a time of racial segregation until both had decided to stand up for themselves. Viola Desmond wanted to see a movie at the cinema in (place) while waiting for her car to be repaired after it had broken down. As was well that night, she purchased a ticket and was ready to enjoy her movie, until a staff member notified her she was not
Have you ever stood up for someone or something, even if it risked your own life? An upstander is someone who sees something harmful happening and tries their best to help out without second guessing themselves. Rosa parks is an inspirational role model to women and men all around the world. Rosa Parks has been a leader since she was a kid at school. She never dropped out like many of her peers until she had to help her dying grandmother. Rosa Parks risked her life as an upstander for African American equality, and inspired many others to follow in her footsteps.
Price, Victoria. "Robinson, Jackie (1919-1972)." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 4. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. 231-233. Student Resources in Context. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
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
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,
"Rosa Parks Biography -- Academy of Achievement." Academy of Achievement Main Menu. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. .
Rosa Parks: My Story is an autobiography. Parks tells about her vital role in the struggle for equality. In detail this book explains how the civil rights movements started. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on a segregated bus, beginning the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott.
Rosa Parks, was a Civil Rights activist who was best known for the incident on the Montgomery bus. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white male who demanded she seat herself in the ‘appropriate colored’ space located at the back of the bus for black men and women. Her defiance to the law that day became known to the world.
On December 1st, 1955, Rosa had started the Montgomery Bus Boycott. On that day, she was asked to moved to the back of a Alabama bus for a white citizen to sit down. She refused. Little do people know, twelve years earlier, blacks were allowed to pay at the front of the bus but were not allowed to walk past whites to get to their segregated section. So, they were required to get off the bus and re-enter through the back entrance. So one rainy day, the driver allowed Parks to walk past to get to a seat, purposely sitting in a white citizens, acting as if she was picking up her purse. Then making the driver so angry he forced Parks to get off and walk 5 miles home in the rain. “I’d see the bus pass every day. But to me, that was a way of life; we had no choice but to accept what was the custom. The bus was among the first