Rosa Parks was a civil right activist that believed that no matter what color or race you should be treated fairly. She lived during a time of segregation, were blacks and whites were considered separate but equal. During this time there was sections were colors could eat, drink, sit or buy goods. Prior to the the ruling of separate but equal by the supreme court, the laws were even harsher because blacks were only consider 2/3 of a person and had no rights. These Jim Crow laws segregated schools, housing and buses. Some white’s agreed with the laws and frowned at colored people because of their deeply rooted hatred. Rosa parks thought different and her grandfather said she should not have hate for them but love for them instead. Parks was born in 1913 and was Tuskegee native. At 11 years old she moved to Pine Level where she went to a rural school.
Then her mom enrolled her in a private school, which was an all-girls school named Miss White’s School for Girls. After she attended Alabama State Teachers College High School but never got to graduate because her grandmother and mom got sick. She took care of them, while her brother worked. She graduated from school in 1934, after marring Raymond Parks, who was self-educated because of segregation and could not go to school. He was very intelligent even though he did not have a formal education but because he educated himself with the help of his mother. He was a big factor in Park finishing her education as he was a support system for her. A monumental day for blacks was December of 1955, because Rosa parks peacefully protested by refusing to give her seat on the bus to a white person. When she was arrested because this was the law, she remained calm and collective.
This act was not usually done by colored people because of fear. Therefore, her bravery started a huge demonstration that affected the country. Her actions triggered protests all over the U.S. for equal rights and changed how things were done. It also changed the course of history in America, giving rise to the civil rights movement. In closing Rosa L. Parks was an iconic civil rights leader, mentor, and humanitarian. Her courageous act to protest on the bus by not giving in ignited the Bus Boycott and this led to change in legislation. She set the foundation for other movements and gave blacks the voice that needed to be heard from years of oppression. She advocated for civil right all her life and was rewarded great honors for her philanthropy work.
