Information about rosa parks childhood biography
She had simply had a firm belief in maintaining her dignity, and would not be treated differently because of the color of her skin. When the bus driver demanded that she give up her seat, she refused and was arrested. On the day of her trial, local African American leaders organized a boycott of the bus system that lasted until the Supreme Court ended bus segregation.
After this victory, the Civil Rights Movement went on to challenge laws that prevented African Americans from being treated like equal citizens. Read more about the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The bus was a special symbol of inequality for Rosa. When she was a child, she had watched white children riding a bus to their school while she and her classmates had to walk to school.
In , Rosa married Raymond Parks, a barber from Montgomery. Rosa worked many jobs, ranging from domestic worker to hospital aide. At her husband's urging, she finished her high school studies in On December 1, , Parks got onto a city bus to go home after work. After several stops, more white passengers got on the bus and filled the first 10 seats that were saved for white passengers.
The bus driver ordered Parks and three other black people to give up their seats so the rest of the white people could sit down closer to the front of the bus. The other three black people moved to the back of the bus, but Parks slid over to the window. She said she was following the law by sitting in the right section of the bus. The driver stopped the bus and called the police.
Two police officers arrested Parks and took her to jail for violating Alabama's bus laws. Her mother called upon Edgar Nixon to bail her out. Rosa was a member of that chapter and Nixon's secretary. Nixon knew the danger Parks was in and immediately arranged her bail. Parks was a respected working woman. She was well-spoken, and her case would be a good way to challenge the law.
It was decided that on December 5, the day that Rosa was scheduled to appear in court, a boycott of all the buses in Montgomery would be held. The word was spread throughout the black community of the intended bus boycott. Black ministers told their congregations to support the boycott. On Monday, December 5th, Rosa Parks appeared in court and black passengers stayed off the Montgomery buses.
The streets of Montgomery were filled with black people walking. That same morning, all Montgomery buses were assigned two motorcycle policemen to guard against any black gangs scaring passengers. There were no black gangs.
Information about rosa parks childhood biography
The black community simply cooperated with the boycott. The buses remained empty all day. White passengers who feared trouble stayed off the buses as well. In addition to the charge of violating the bus laws, Parks was also charged with disorderly conduct. Her trial was quick, only lasting about 30 minutes. She had been diagnosed the previous year with progressive dementia, which she had been suffering from since at least Capitol Rotunda in Washington, where an estimated 50, people viewed her casket.
Shortly after her death, the chapel was renamed the Rosa L. Parks Freedom Chapel. Parks, I probably would not be standing here today as secretary of state. The following year, she was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award given by the U. Postal Service stamp was released called the Rosa Parks Forever stamp, featuring a rendition of the famed activist.
The Biography. We have worked as daily newspaper reporters, major national magazine editors, and as editors-in-chief of regional media publications. Among our ranks are book authors and award-winning journalists. Our staff also works with freelance writers, researchers, and other contributors to produce the smart, compelling profiles and articles you see on our site.
Colin McEvoy joined the Biography. He is also an avid film buff, reader, and lover of great stories. Marcus Garvey. Martin Luther King Jr. Malcolm X. Ethel Kennedy. Huey P. Dred Scott. Benjamin Banneker. Getty Images Rosa Parks seated toward the front of an integrated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in As the bus travelled along its regular route, all of the white-only seats in the bus filled up.
The bus reached the third stop in front of the Empire Theater, and several white passengers boarded. In , Montgomery had passed a city ordinance for the purpose of segregating passengers by race. Conductors were given the power to assign seats to accomplish that purpose; however, no passengers would be required to move or give up their seat and stand if the bus was crowded and no other seats were available.
Over time and by custom, however, Montgomery bus drivers had adopted the practice of requiring black riders to move whenever there were no white only seats left. Following standard practice, the bus driver Blake noted that the front of the bus was filled with white passengers and there were two or three men standing. Years later, in recalling the events of the day, Parks said,.
Parks moved, but toward the window seat; she did not move to the newly repositioned colored section. When recalling the incident for Eyes on the Prize, a public television series on the Civil Rights Movement, Parks said,. During a radio interview with Sydney Rogers in West Oakland, Parks was asked why she decided not to vacate her bus seat.
I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in. When Parks refused to give up her seat, a police officer arrested her. Parks was charged with a violation of Chapter 6, Section 11 segregation law of the Montgomery City code, even though she technically had not taken up a white-only seat — she had been in a colored section.
Nixon and Clifford Durr bailed Parks out of jail the evening of December 1.