Rosa Parks is one of the most influential and inspirational women of all time. By one action she helped change many African American’s lives, but most importantly the society. Rosa parks stood up for what she believed in, even though she was standing alone; refusing to obey the black standards. Not only did she help change the lives of African American’s, but she helped equality for all men and women in the United States. Humanity is grateful what Mrs. Parks contributed for equal rights and it will be forever known.
Mrs. Parks was born in Tuskegee on February 4, 1913. At the age of two she moved to pine level, where she was raised by her grandparents on their farm. During her childhood she grew up with segregation and the terrible fear of a society, The Klu Klux Klan. Her grandfather would defend her from the Klan, and he often slept with a rifle by his bedside, due to the unsafe environment. Rosa attended the Montgomery Industrial School at the age of eleven, which was financed by a group of white women from the North. Unfortunately she quit school to take care of her grandmother, and at the age of twenty she finished her high school diploma.
On December 1, 1955 she got arrested for violating Montgomery city code chapter 6 section 11. After a long hard day of work, she refused to give up her seat in the front of a bus for a white man. The supreme court of the United States struck down the city law allowing segregation on public buses. Rosa married a barber named Raymond who was a member of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He encouraged her to join, and in 1943 she began working as a secretary for NAACP. There she met Martin Luther King Jr.
She moved to Detroit with her husband and worked as a seamstress. President Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Metal of Freedom in 1996, and in 1999 she received the Congressional Gold Medal. After the death of her husband, she found Pathways to Freedom in 1977. In 2005 at the age of 92, her body laid in state in capital building of US.
Rosa was an incredible woman who “sat down” to stand up for what she believed in. If it wasn’t for her contribution equality would still be an issue. She earned the name “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement”, it is also known as “spark that lit the fire.” She will always be an inspiration for the African American culture and race. Not only will she be known as an inspirational leader, but also as an encourager to all people. An encourager that will give others the confidence to stand their ground for what they believe is right. Rosa Park made a difference then, the change is happening until this day, and will still be there tomorrow.
