Black History Day 4: Rosa Parks

In the continuation of Black History Month we will discuss one of the major catalysts of the Civil Rights Movement, Rosa Parks. Born on February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama it was this woman’s action that snowballed the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

On December 1, 1955 after a long day at work, Ms. Parks boarded a bus home while on the bus the driver ordered her to give up her seat for a white man. She refused and with that the driver call the police and Parks was arrested. Overall she was charged with a $14 fine. It was with this action that sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. It was also with this incident that Rosa Parks is called the mother of the Civil Rights Movement.

One fact about Rosa Parks is that prior to her arrest, she was already a member of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP as a secretary. It also wasn’t her first encounter with that particular bus driver. Had she paid attention to who was driving the bus she would’ve never gotten on that particular bus in the first place.

With the Montgomery Boycott underway Parks eventually lost her job and she and her husband relocated to Detroit, Michigan where she stayed for the rest of her life. It was there where she founded Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development for youth and seniors.

On this day I chose her as the subject she show respect and honor for her birthday, Happy Birthday Rosa Parks.