ROSA PARKS: CHAMPION FOR CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOM

Author: David Nalin
There are many stories of brave and rebellious patriots that have risen from the history of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. Few are more celebrated than the quiet seamstress whose actions lead to the ultimate fall of legalized segregation. The story is of Rosa Parks, often referred to as the mother of the modern civil rights movement.
The day that Rosa Parks is most remembered for is December 1st, 1955. At the time Rosa was working as a seamstress at a local department store. At the time, segregation laws required that blacks enter the front of the bus to pay their fare then leave the bus and enter by the back door to take their seats. There was a section of seats in the back of the bus that was reserved for 'colored' riders. Should a white rider enter the bus and be unable to find a seat, black riders were required to leave their seat to allow the white rider to sit down.


On this particular day Rosa Parks was tired of the injustice and not about to give up her seat. This was the day she decided to fight. She sat quietly in the first row of the section reserved for blacks. When the bus driver asked several blacks to move to make room for whites Rosa was the only rider who refused. Today was not to be the day for that. Without making a fuss Rosa Parks remained in her seat. This action was considered a crime for which the normal penalty was a fine.
Rosa Parks was not the first black woman to refuse to give up her seat. She was, however, the first one that the N.A.A.C.P. considered to be a good candidate to test the law. With the support of local leaders and a young Dr. Martin Luther King, Rosa went to court for her infraction. Rosa was known in the community to be above reproach. She was respected for her quiet strength and her high morals. To show their protest for the prosecution a bus boycott was organized to take place the day of the trial. Rosa was convicted.
Rosa Parks\' story does not end here. She agreed to take the case to the next level and ultimately it resulted in a Supreme Court decision that overturned the constitutionality of Alabama\'s segregation laws. And so change began. This is considered to be a defining event of the American Civil Rights Movement. Rosa Parks\' name became forever linked with the beginning of the struggle for equal rights for all races.
Becoming the face of the early Civil Rights Movement took a toll on Rosa Parks\' life. She and her husband moved away from Montgomery to Virginia and finally Detroit. She continued to be active in the movement and in other social causes. She worked for many years for U.S. Representative John Conyers. After retirement she dedicated a great deal of her time to Planned Parenthood. She died at the age of 92 in 2005. More than half a century since she took her stand, Rosa Parks\' name is still synonymous with civil rights activism, bravery, and freedom.
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About the Author
Rosa Parks, named The Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement, was an African-American woman born in Tuskegee, Alabama in 1913. She is most well known for her stand against racial segregation on public buses in Montgomery, Alabama. Learn more about this extraordinary woman.