Rosa Parks Research Paper

Ever since Rosa Parks was a child, she faced experiences with racial discrimination and activism for racial equality. Rosa’s parents divorced when she was 2 years old. Rosa's mother moved the family to Pine Level, Alabama to live with her parents, Rose and Sylvester Edwards. Both of Rosa’s grandparents were former slaves and strong supporters for racial equality. Rosa lived on the Edwards' farm with her family, where she would spend her youth. In one scenario, Rosa's grandfather stood in front of their house with a shotgun while Ku Klux Klan members marched down the street. Rosa’s mother was a teacher, and the family valued education. Rosa was taught to read by her mother at a young age. She went on to attend a segregated, one-room school in

Pine Level, Alabama, that often lacked needed school supplies such as desks. White students were provided transportation as well as a new school building. African-American students were forced to walk to the 1st- through 6th-grade schoolhouse. Beginning at 11, the rest of Rosa's education, she attended segregated schools in Montgomery, including the city's Industrial School for Girls.
In 1929, Rosa was in the 11th grade and attending a laboratory school for secondary education led by the Alabama State Teachers College for Negroes. Rosa was forced to leave school to visit her sick grandmother and mother back in Pine Level. She got a job at a shirt factory in Montgomery, instead of returning back to school. In 1932, Rosa met and married Raymond Parks at age 19. Raymond was a barber and an active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Rosa earned her high school degree in 1933 with the support of Raymond. Rosa soon became actively involved in civil rights issues by joining the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP in 1943, serving as the chapter's youth leader as well as secretary to NAACP President E.D. Nixon (until 1957).
The Montgomery City Code required that all public transportation be segregated. While operating a bus, drivers were required to provide separate but equal accommodations for white and black passengers by assigning seats. This was accomplished with a line roughly in the middle of the bus separating white passengers in the front of the bus and African-American passengers in the back. When African-American passengers boarded the bus, they had to get on at the front to pay their fare, got off, and reboarded the bus at the back door. Blacks were forced to give up their seat for a white if no seats were left on the bus. On December 1, 1955, after a long day's work at a Montgomery department store, where she worked as a seamstress, Rosa Parks boarded the Cleveland Avenue bus for home. If the black passenger protested giving up their seat for a white, the bus driver had the authority to refuse service and could call the police to have them removed. As the bus Rosa was riding continued on its route, it began to fill with white passengers. Eventually, the bus was full and the driver noticed that several white passengers were standing in the aisle. He stopped the bus and moved the sign separating the two sections back one row and asked four black passengers to give up their seats. Three agreed, but Rosa refused and remained seated. The driver called the police and had her arrested. Later, Rosa recalled that her refusal wasn't because she was physically tired, but that she was tired of giving in. The police arrested Rosa at the scene and charged her with violation of Chapter 6, Section 11, of the Montgomery City Code. She was taken to police headquarters, where, later that night, she was released on bail.
On the evening of Rosa’s arrest, ads were placed in local papers and handbills were handed out in black neighborhoods. The day of Rosa’s trial, black people were forced to stay at home due to the fear of protests. Protests followed days later and supporters rallied outside the courthouse on the day of Rosa’s trial. Rosa was found guilty of violating a local ordinance and was fined $10, as well as a $4 court fee. Inarguably the biggest event of the day, however, was what Rosa's trial had triggered. The Montgomery Bus Boycott, as it came to be known, was a huge success. Some segregationists retaliated with violence. Black churches were burned, and both Martin Luther King Jr.'s and E.D. Nixon's homes were destroyed by bombings. Still, further attempts were made to end the boycott. The insurance was canceled for the city taxi system that was used by African Americans. Black citizens were arrested for violating an antiquated law prohibiting boycotts. The Brown v. Board of Education decision stated that separate but equal policies had no place in public education. With the transit company and downtown businesses suffering financial loss and the legal system ruling against them, the city of Montgomery had no choice but to lift its enforcement of segregation on public buses, and the boycott officially ended on December 20, 1956. She lost her department store job and her husband was fired after his boss forbade him to talk about his wife or their legal case. They eventually left Montgomery due their ability to not find a job.
In 1987, Rosa founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development with her friend.

The organization runs “Pathways to Freedom” bus tours where sites are visited introducing people to civil rights and Underground Railroads. In 1992, Rosa published Rosa Parks: My Story, an autobiography describing her life in the segregated South. In 1995, Rosa published Quiet Strength which includes her memories and focuses on the religious faith that played out through her life. Rosa Parks won many awards including the Spingarn Medal, the NAACP’s highest award. and the Martin Luther King Jr. Award. She was also, awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal, and named as one of the “Top 20 influential people of the 20th century. Rosa Parks passed away on October 24, 2005, at the age of 92, quietly in her apartment in Detroit, Michigan. The year before her death, Rosa was diagnosed with progressive dementia. Rosa was honored multiple times in memorial services and was later buried at Detroit Woodlawn Cemetery (later named after Rosa Parks). February 4, 2013 marked Rosa Parks 100th birthday when a stamp was created with her name, she was honored at the country's capital building, and a sculptor was made of her. She was the first women to lie in the national capital after

death.
Rosa Parks was a very important historical leader during the Civil Rights period as an activist. I chose Rosa Parks, because she changed history by not giving up her seat on the bus. She sparked others to rebel and fight for their rights. I believe Rosa Parks made my life different, because without her and other activists actions the country might still have been segregated. This encourages me to stand up for my beliefs and don’t let others treat me badly due to the way I am or look. I think all people should be equal and Rosa Parks gives me a reason why my beliefs are correct. I admire her the most, because she stood up for her rights and her community with no fear even when she knew the consequence was going to jail. She went to jail and risked her life to stand up for her community and self.