Most historians date the start of modern civil rights movement in the United States back to December 1, 1955. That was the day when Rosa Louise McCauley Parks an unknown seamstress in Montgomery, Alabama refused to give up her seat to a white passenger. Rosa was born on February 4, 1913 and died on October 24, 2005. Rosa Parks was an African- American Civil Rights Activist and was involved in civil right issues in 1943, when she joined the National Association for the advancement of coloured people (NAACP). The United States congress called Rosa Parks "The First Lady of Civil Rights" and "The Mother of the Freedom Movement". The predicament that got Rosa to be named these titles was the bus boycott. In 1955, Rosa was …show more content…
Rosa is known today as the “mother of the civil rights movement”. On that day Rosa parks got arrested for violating segregation rules, not giving a white commuter her seat when there were no more seats in the white section of the bus. The bus driver asked 4 people from the black section at the back of the bus to stand up and give the white commuters their seats, 3 of the 4 people stood up, Rosa parks stayed seated. Rosa explained after the incident that she didn’t stay seated because she was tired after a long day. “People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired,” wrote Parks in her autobiography, “but that isn’t true. I was not tired physically… No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.” Rosa Parks achieved a lot in 92 years of being alive. Not only did Rosa initiate the Montgomery Bus boycott, Rosa achieved many medals, awards and recognition. Rosa was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993 and was awarded the Medal of Freedom award by President Bill Clinton in 1996 and the congressional gold medal in 1999. The Southern Christian Leadership Council established an annual Rosa Parks Freedom Award. After Rosa parks death on the 5th of October 2005, Congress approved allowing Rosa’s body to lie in honor in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. Rosa was the 31st person, the first woman, and only the second black person to be …show more content…
Her action ended segregated buses in multiple cities and ended other forms of inequality, including separate water fountains and restraint entrances. Rosa Parks made history; she left behind equal rights between people. Not only did Rosa stand up for herself on the bus but also she showed others that they shouldn’t be afraid to stand up to people and say something about what they are against. The victory of the bus boycott inspired further efforts in America to end segregation. Today in the United States of America people are still affected by racism, though it has been enormously reduced in the past sixty years. Rosa Parks inspired tens of thousands of working class African Americans to boycott the local buses for than a year. Finally, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that declared segregated seating laws unconstitutional. Civil rights have come so far in today’s society that it is socially acceptable to have an African-American United States President in the 21st century. Without the help of Rosa Parks and her contribution to civil rights, the world would be different. Rosa parks died a national