Rosa
Parks, the "mother of the
civil rights movement"
was one of the most important
citizens of the 20th century.
Mrs. Parks was a seamstress in
Montgomery, Alabama when, in
December of 1955, she refused
to give up her seat on a city
bus to a white passenger. The
bus driver had her arrested.
She was tried and convicted of
violating a local ordinance.
Her
act sparked a citywide boycott
of the bus system by blacks
that lasted more than a year.
The boycott raised an unknown
clergyman named Martin Luther
King, Jr., to national
prominence and resulted in the
U.S. Supreme Court decision
outlawing segregation on city
buses. Over the next four
decades, she helped make her
fellow Americans aware of the
history of the civil rights
struggle. This pioneer in the
struggle for racial equality
was the recipient of
innumerable honors, including
the Martin Luther King Jr.
Nonviolent Peace Prize and the
Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Her example remains an
inspiration to freedom-loving
people everywhere. Thank
you Sista
Rosa Parks!
