Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley on February 4, 1913. She grew up on a farm near Montgomery, Alabama. Rosa's mother was a teacher and taught her at home. When Rosa was eleven years old, she went to the Montgomery Industrial School for Girls, which was for African-American girls. At the time when Rosa was going to school, people were segregated. Segregation is the separation of people based on their race, culture, religion, or other reason. African Americans and people of other races were not allowed to go to the same school as white students.

Rosa went to high school, but she had to leave when her grandmother and mother got sick. Then Rosa met Raymond Parks, and they got married. With Raymond’s help, she went back to school and finished when she was twenty years old. At the time, most African Americans didn't graduate high school, but Rosa Parks did.

Rosa later became a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The N.A.A.C.P. is an organization that fights for equal rights for all people.

Schools were not the only thing that were segregated. There were segregated restaurants, theaters, bathrooms, and even water fountains. People of color also had to sit in different parts of buses. If buses got crowded, people of color had to give up their seats.

One day, Rosa Parks got on the bus and sat down. As more people got on the bus, the driver told her to give her seat to a white passenger. Rosa Parks was tired of being treated unfairly just because of the color of her skin. So, she said "no," and refused to give up her seat.

Rosa was then arrested and put into jail. When she got out of jail, the people in the community all joined together for a boycott, that was organized by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A boycott is when people join together and refuse to do business with someone or something. Thousands of people refused to ride the bus in protest of segregation. Communities from all over the country supported the boycott, and even donated shoes for people who were participating.

On November 13, 1957, The United States Supreme Court ruled that segregating buses was unconstitutional. Finally, people could sit wherever they wanted. Rosa Parks stood up for what she believed in and helped make a difference. Throughout her life, she continued to be an activist, fighting for equal rights and working to make changes to laws.

Today, we remember her courage to stay seated.