Joseph Burkett
ROTC 04
ESSAY
ROSA PARKS:
Unknowingly when Rosa Parks entered the bus on December 1st in Montgomery Alabama little did she know that she would be changing the world forever. For what she did, on the bus, not giving her seat to a white man, many consider her to be the “mother of modern-day civil rights movement.” Her courageous act is believed to have launched the civil rights movement. The attention gained by the incident on the bus allowed for more and more attention to segregation laws and working to change them to allow for racial equality. Today, the United States of America is still affected by racism, but it has been enormously reduced in the past fifty years. With an African American as the President, Barack Obama our first African American President, African Americans in the USA have the same rights as everyone else and a general sense of equal opportunity. There is still a lot of work to be done, but the future generations must continue what Rosa Parks left behind and let her legacy live on, forever.
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Her family members taught her that whenever in doubt, Parks should read the Bible, for it holds all the answers needed. Rosa Parks said she had faith that God will keep her safe and help her out of her problems. Her and her family would make sure to pray daily for their safety and to hope for a rapid solution to racism in the United States and to work towards equality amongst all people and
On December 1, 1955, Parks was taking the bus home from work. Before she reached her destination, she silently set off a revolution when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white man. As a black violating the laws of racial segregation, she was arrested. Her arrest inspired blacks in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to organize a bus boycott to protest the discrimination they had endured for decades. After filing her notice of appeal, a panel of judges in the District Court ruled that racial segregation of public buses was unconstitutional. It was through her silent act of defiance that people began to protest racial discrimination, and where she earned the name “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement” (Bredhoff et
Rosa Parks was a member of the NAACP, lived in Montgomery Alabama, and rode the public bus system. In the south, during this time the buses were segregated which meant that black people had to ride in the back of the bus behind a painted line. White people entered the front of the bus and were compelled to sit in front of the painted line. Most buses at the time had more room for white riders who used the service less than the black ridership. Yet, they could not cross the line even if the seats in the front were empty (Brown-Rose, 2008). Rosa Parks made a bold statement when she sat in the “white section” of a Montgomery bus. She was asked to surrender her seat to a white man, but she did not move and was soon arrested. Her brave action started the Montgomery bus Boycott, with the help of the NAACP, none other than Dr. Martin Luther King’s leadership as part of the Montgomery Improvement Association. As its President, he was able spread the word quickly which brought national attention to the small town of Montgomery’s bus Boycott. The boycott was televised and brought so much attention that the United States Supreme Court ruled that segregation on public transportation was unconstitutional; a success spurring a more
During this time period, Rosa Parks was known as “The Mother of the Civil Rights Movement”. Rosa Parks died on October 25, 2005 at age 92. Rosa parks felt that everyone should be free and everyone should have the same rights. Rosa Parks was able to read when she was little because she was born 50 years after slavery, in 1913. Her mother taught her to read when she was very little because she was a teacher (Interview with Rosa Parks). The school she went to was very strict about the way things were done. For example:
In a century where the United States had experienced major change around the world, two world wars, and was in an ongoing arms race with the Soviet Union, there was change to be made within the nation as well. One of the first events to see Dr. King’s involvement in civil rights was December 1, 1955 when Rosa Parks, a civil rights activist, refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man. Rosa Parks was arrested for not wanting to give up her seat and was put in jail. Thi...
African Americans living in the north had more freedom than in the south, but they still faced discrimination. They were able to work, but they worked enough to feed themselves and family, they were not able to succeed. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter” (Martin Luther King). Many people are sometimes to afraid of what might happen if they fight racism, that they never fight it and in the end, they are never able to find out. Rosa Parks was one of the many people who became tired of the racism the United States had. “I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free... so other people would be also free” (Rosa Parks). Rosa Parks was one of the many people who fought racism, which would eventually make our country a better place to live.
Throughout history, many historical figures that has had a very astounding impact on the world today were people who were willing to go against the norm or sometimes even the law. This act of civil disobedience is not a crime but rather it is a eye opener. This is because sometimes it takes breaking the law to show the flaws hidden within the law itself. In the case of Rosa Parks, her civil disobedience is what sparked change and allowed the nation to see the unsightliness of the law that put her and others into confinement.
The Mother of the Civil Rights Movement Have you ever stood up for someone or something, even if it risked your own life? An upstander is someone who sees something harmful happening and tries their best to help out without second guessing themselves. Rosa parks is an inspirational role model to women and men all around the world. Rosa Parks has been a leader since she was a kid at school.
Without strong beliefs in this world, nothing would push most of us to do the thing we love. In the book “the crucible”, Reverend Hale says to Elizabeth Proctor: “No principle, however glorious, is worth dying for.” He argues that it is better to give a false confession than to die for a principle of belief. This statement is wrong for many reasons. Many people have sacrificed themselves for their beliefs, and it has changed the way man people live and think in our everyday society. This has been seen with Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks, Policemen And Fire Fighters, and the founding fathers. I will explain in my next paragraph how Martin Luther king Jr and Rosa Parks movement changed our lives.
In the end, Rosa Parks got what she wanted; rights for blacks. Even though there is still racism today blacks are considered equal to whites. When she sat in her bus seat and said, “I’m tired of you [people] pushing [us] around.” It made a difference in this world. She became a positive role model for Colored people.
Rosa Parks was told to give up her seat for a white woman. Rosa’s actions and others who helped have allowed black people to keep their own seat. Rosa’s actions were good for black
Rosa Parks was an African American who was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white men. She was bailed out of jail by president, Edgar Nixon, of the NAACP. After hearing about what occurred to Rosa Parks, the black community formed a boycott of Montgomery’s bus system. “Calling themselves the Montgomery Improvement Association, they chose a young minister named Martin Luther King, Jr., to lead the struggle f...
By not giving up her seat to a white man, Rosa Parks has started the cause of the civil rights movement in the United States. This helps all African Americans get rights in America. Rosa Parks saw racial discrimination in her early life. Also, she saw African Americans as not equal. She influenced the change of African American rights, which helped develop the Civil Rights Movement. Rosa Parks helped influenced society, when she said no to a white male for her seat. The boycott of African American rights started after Rosa Parks did not give up her seat. Rosa Parks did not know she was going to influence society, nor did she know she was going to get arrested by doing this. Rosa Parks influence has helped change society and also is still a great example to others today.
She says “Anytime a child is born, the old people look at his face and ask him if he’s the One” (Book 4). When the elders say “The One”, they are referring to a savior for the black race; one that will lead them forward to their salvation. They remain hopeful, no matter what. I think America knows first hand when it comes to hoping our country will change for the better. Where there is hope, there is change.
An example of how she did this was that she was using a magical shawl to hold her baby tight vand for her baby to suck any milk that was left in her breasts. By Rosa using this shawl it kept her baby alive during the hardest part of the march to the concentration camp. In today’s world many mothers would not go to this extent to care for her child which is very sad. Many mothers today will either neglect their child because they didn’t want them in the first place. If mothers today would go to this extent for love like Rosa did there wouldn’t be so many kids today that are not treated with love and
Coretta Scott King (April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, civil rights leader, and the wife of Martin Luther King, Jr. from 1953 until his death in 1968. Coretta Scott King helped lead the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. King was an active advocate for African-American equality. King met her husband while in college, and their participation escalated until they became central to the movement. In her early life, Coretta was an accomplished singer, and she often incorporated music into her civil rights work.