Rosa Parks Rosa Parks was born on February

Rosa Parks

• Rosa Parks was born on February 4 th 1913 • She lived in Alabama with her mother and her brother on their grandparent’s farm. • She went to the local African-American school where her mother was a teacher.

• Rosa's mother wanted her • A few years later Rosa to get a high school met Raymond Parks. education, but this wasn't Raymond was a successful easy for an Africanbarber who worked in American girl living in Montgomery. They Alabama in the 1920 s. married a year later in 1932. • Rosa worked part time • Unfortunately, Rosa's jobs and went back to education was cut short school, finally earning her when her mother became high school diploma. very ill. Rosa left school to Something she was very care for her mother. proud of.

• During this time, the city of Montgomery was segregated. This meant that things were different for white people and black people. They had different schools, different churches, different stores, different elevators, and even different drinking fountains. Places often had signs saying "For Colored Only" or "For Whites Only". • When Rosa would ride the bus to work, she would have to sit in the back in the seats marked "for colored". Sometimes she would have to stand even if there were seats open up front.

• Growing up Rosa had lived with racism in the south. • Rosa and her husband Raymond wanted to do something about it. They joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

• It was on December 1, 1955 that Rosa made her famous stand on the bus. All the seats on the bus had filled up when a white man boarded. • The bus driver told Rosa and some other African. Americans to stand up. Rosa refused. The bus driver said he would call the police. Rosa didn't move. Soon the police showed up and Rosa was arrested.

• Rosa was charged with breaking a segregation law and was told to pay a fine of $10. She refused to pay, however, saying that she was not guilty and that the law was illegal. She appealed to a higher court. • That night a number of African-American leaders got together and decided to boycott the city buses. This meant that Africans would no longer ride the buses. One of these leaders was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

• It wasn't easy for people to boycott the buses as many African-Americans didn't have cars. But they stuck to their decision. • The boycott continued for 381 days! Finally, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that the segregation laws in Alabama were unconstitutional.

• Just because the laws • Rosa continued to were changed, things attend civil rights didn't get any easier for meetings. She became a Rosa. She received symbol to many Africanmany threats and Americans of the fight feared for her life. Many for equal rights. She is of the civil rights still a symbol of leader's houses were freedom and equality to bombed, including the many today. home of Martin Luther King Jr.

Fun facts about Rosa Parks • Rosa was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom. • Rosa often worked as a seamstress when she needed a job or to make some extra money. • You can visit the actual bus that Rosa Parks sat in at the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan. • When she lived in Detroit, she worked as a secretary for U. S. Representative John Conyers for many years. • She wrote an autobiography called Rosa Parks: My Story in 1992.