Before the 1950’s many world wide affairs occured that will forever go down in history for generation after generations. We americans are all taught that Inspirational leaders who rose to fame and played a significant role in creating efforts to aid such world affairs are important topics. Someone who earned such role was Widely known Civil rights activist Rosa Parks with her efforts was able to end a long time battle of segregation on public transportation such as buses during the Montgomery boycott.Rosa Parks was arrested for refusal to give up her seat for a white passenger on the bus.
Rosa Parks was born as Rosa Louise McCauley on February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama to Parents, Leona & James McCauley who were former slaves as well as strong advocates for racial equality. The McCauleys moved their family including her brother Sylvester to Pine Level, Alabama where Rosa attended and was educated in a rural school.After completing her education in Pine Level at 11 her mother, Leona, enrolled her in a private institution called ‘The Montgomery Industrial School for Girls” better known as (Miss White’s School for Girls). After finishing Miss White’s School, she went on to Alabama State Teachers College High School. However, Due to the illness of her grandmother Rose Edwards which resulted later with her death. She did not graduate with her class. Returning to Alabama State Teachers College, her mother also became ill, she continued to care for her mother while her brother, Sylvester, worked outside of home. On December 18, 1932 at age 19 Rosa met and married husband Raymond Parks a barber and an active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Raymond received very little formal education due to the racism and segregation he faced However, He became self-educated with the assistance of his mother, Geri Parks.His knowledge of domestic affairs plus current events made many speculate on whether he did have college educated background. With Parks continued support and encouragement he pushed Rosa to complete and gain her High School diploma in 1983. Rosa and Raymond worked for the National Association for the Advancement Programs formerly known as the NAACP. of Colored people. Raymond was an active member and Rosa served as the chapels youth leaders while also being a secretariat to NAACP President E.D. Nixon in 1943.
On December 1, 1955, after rosa has had a long day’s work as a seamstress in a Montgomery department store, she jumped on the Cleveland Avenue bus to go home. Tiredly, She sat in the 1st of 7 rows of seats designated for ‘colored’ passengers. Due to the city code of Montgomery, nus drivers had ‘powers of a police officer of the city while in actual charge of any bus for the purposes of carrying out the provisions. They had set accommodations separating the colored from the whites only. Not only did They have a long line that assigned seating, colored people had to board in the front of the bus then pay their fare and last but worst then get off and go to the bus at the back door and reboard it to sit in the back instead of just walking through the front. A tired rosa still sitting on the bus while it’s in route, the bus driver noticed a few whites were standing and moved the sign that’s supposed to separate the two sections back a row, meaning not 1 but four black passengers had to give up their colored seats for the remaining whites standing, city code didn’t specifically give bus drivers the authority on to demand a passenger regardless of their skin color to give up their seat. However bus drivers were so accustomed to moving a sign back a room if necessary if the colored passenger refused, they had the authority to call police and refuse their service. Every passenger offered their seat except rosa parks, refused and remained seated. Rosa recalled that her refusal wasn’t because she was physically tired, but that she was tired of giving in (Biography.com)Rosa was arrested on the bus and charged with an chapter 6, section 11 violation. She was released that night and released on bail with E.D Nixon’s help, but fined $10 plus an additional $4 for her court fees, this was the start of the montgomery bus boycott.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was the Highlight in all civil-rights protest, after the arrest of Rosa Parks,only using her one phone call to reach her husband, word got out fast. Ads were placed quickly in newspapers as they was printed and distributed all over town. Black people of Montgomery and other races of color who sympathized for her, promoted a well-organized 381 day boycott of the city bus line and segregated seating for coloreds, it was a period of time where African Americans would refuse to even Board a city bus. With the help of E.D Nixon, Ralph Abernathy and newly elected president of the Montgomery Improvement Association formerly known as the (M.I.A) Reverend Martin Luther King Jr (only 26 at the time), used his peaceful approach on protests and non-violent tactics gaining not only national but international media. They were all arrested as well as king, thinking their demands wouldnt have no effect, but little did they know Approximately 40,000 African-American bus riders, the majority of the city’s bus riders—boycotted the system the next day, December 5(history.com). Because so many African Americans refused to ride a city bus the Company lost a lot of revenue meaning thousands of dollars used anywhere but on a bus. At last, after a 13 month battle on November 23, 1956, the Supreme Court decided for the MIA. Isolated Bussing was pronounced illegal. City authorities reluctantly consented to conform to the Court Ruling.
The Montgomery boycott set off a firestorm in the South. Over the area, blacks opposed ‘moving to the back of the transport.’ Similar activities erupted in different urban communities. The boycott put Martin Luther King Jr. in the national spotlight. He turned into the most recognized pioneer of the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement.
This association was committed to battling Jim Crow isolation. African Americans intensely proclaimed to whatever is left of the nation that their development would be serene, composed, and decided.To present day eyes, getting a seat on a transport may not appear to be an extraordinary accomplishment. Be that as it may, in 1955, taking a seat denoted the initial phase in an upheaval.
After the boycott, Rosa Parks turned into a national symbol and driving representative of the social equality development in the US. Quickly. But Rosa Parks endured hardship in the months following her capture in Montgomery and the resulting boycott. She lost her retail chain employment and her husband was also terminated. Unfit to look for some kind of employment, they in the long run left Montgomery; both rosa and raymond, alongside Rosa’s mom, moved to Detroit, Michigan. There, Rosa made another life for herself. In 1965, she was hired by African-American U.S. Agent John Conyers. There She functioned as his secretary until her retirement in 1988.
Some white people were not content with the boycott. The legislature began to fine cab drivers who did not charge 45 cent for a ride. They also prosecuted most of the leaders who meddle with the business. Martin Luther King Jr. was requested to pay a $500 fine. He wound up being arrested as well and spent fourteen days in prison.
A large portion of the white subjects began to turn to violence. They firebombed abernathy and Martin Luther King Jr’s. home as well as several churches. Sometimes they would assault the harmless boycotters while strolling. Notwithstanding this, King was unyielding that the protestors remain peaceful. And in a speech to the crowd of angry white supremacist MLk said ‘We should love our white brothers, regardless of what they do to us”.
What people don’t know about the bus boycott is Rosa had already had a prior encounter with bus driver James Blake, who demanded she vacate and give up her seat for a white passenger. In 1943, Blake had thrown her off from his bus after she refused to re-enter the vehicle through the back door after paying her fare at the front. Rosa stated in her autobiography that,“I never wanted to be on that man’s bus again”.Throughout the boycott and beyond, Parks received threatening phone calls and death threats (History.com)On February 21, 1956, a grand jury handed down indictments against her and dozens of others for violating state law against organizing such boycotting, she was arrested again along with 114 others.
However others believe she started something needed in their time, My view based on the accomplishments rosa parks contributed to world affairs she opened the doors for African Americans to be confident and motivated enough to refuse
Rosa Parks prompted African Americans to not trust racial oppression to such an extent, this is on the grounds that it demonstrated how many individuals felt a similar path about the circumstance. It’s not simply that rosa parks profited, but she made numerous individuals consider what they were doing having the isolation. Nearly everybody in the South trusted that white individuals were the best and minorities individuals were to a lesser extent a man. This occasion began to influence individuals to understand that minorities individuals can in any case have an immense effect in a territory that trusted they shouldn’t have similar extravagances. Without this valiant activity by Rosa Parks we could even now be living in an isolated nation where white individuals were believed to be the best. King recalled in his memoir that “Mrs. Parks was ideal for the role assigned to her by history,” and because “her character was impeccable and her dedication deep-rooted” she was “one of the most respected people in the Negro community”(Kings Institute.com)
On top of her contributions, Rosa parks received many accolades due to her accomplishing an end on segregation on public transportation.
In 1979, the NAACP awarded Rosa Parks with the Spingarn Medal, the highest honor.
In 1980, the NAACP awarded her with the Martin Luther King Jr. Award.
In 1983, Rosa Parks was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame
In 1990, Rosa Parks attended the welcoming party for Nelson Mandela
In 1992, she was awarded the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience award for her community service and commitment to social change through nonviolent tactics and civil rights
In 1992 she wrote her book called My Life by Rosa Parks. It told the story of Rosa’s life and the day of the
In 1996, Rosa Parks was presented, by President Bill Clinton, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This is the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a civilian by the United States Government.
In 1998, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center presented Rosa Parks with the International Freedom Conductor Award
In 1999, Rosa Parks was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal, awarded the Detroit-Windsor International Freedom Festival Freedom Award and Time Magazine named Rosa Parks as one of the 20 most powerful and influential figures of the century.
In 2000, the State of Alabama awarded Rosa Parks the Governor’s Medal of Honor for Extraordinary Courage. She also received the Alabama Academy Award the same year
On October 24, 2005, at 92 years old , Rosa Parks died in her apartment in Detroit, Michigan. Diagnosed the previous year with a progressive level of dementia, she suffered since 2002. Her death was honored by not only 1 but 7 different memorial services, one of them being at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. About an estimate of 50,000 people were able to view her casket. Rosa Parks is buried between her husband and mother in chapels mausoleum in Detroit’s Woodlawn Cemetery. After her death, the mausoleum was then renamed as the “Rosa L. Parks Freedom Chapel”. Even after death rosas legacy still continue in many ways, Republican presidential contenders were asked to pick one woman they wanted the face of on the $10 bill, the largest number of votes went for Rosa Parks(The Washington Post).
In Conclusion, Rosa Parks is widely known for her helping efforts in launching a nationwide boycott to end segregation on the use of public facilities such as bathrooms and dinners for people of color. The city of Montgomery had lifted such law requiring segregation on public buses. In return for her bravman ship Rosa Parks received many accolades during her lifetime, the biggest being the NAACP award. By refusing to give up her bus seat on a city bus in 1955 Rosa Parks helped start the civil rights movement. Rosa Parks arrest resulted in the local African-American community starting the most revolutionary boycott that would last more than a year and ended when the U.S. Supreme Court declared that bus segregation was unconstitutional. Rosa Parks is and will always remain our national symbol of strength in the struggle to end segregation.
