Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

1000 Words2 Pages

On December 1st, 1955, something extraordinary happened. An African American seamstress known as Rosa Parks preformed a bold action when she chose not to abandon her seat on the bus to a white man who needed it. In modern times, this wouldn’t be such a big deal. However, back in the 1900s, when there was an immense amount of racial segregation, it was a huge deal. Any African American who disobeyed a white could be severely punished. Sometimes the blacks were killed by the whites. Once again, it wasn’t as big of a deal back then. None of the whites ever believed it was a concern, and they never considered themselves murderers. After being told to move, and refusing, Parks got arrested and fined ten dollars (American Woman’s History). Her actions elicited a chain of events in the Civil Rights Movement, counting the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Rosa Parks was born on February 14, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. Her full name was Rosa Louise McCauley. In 1932, at age 19, Rosa met and married Raymond Parks, a barber and an active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). With Raymond's guidance, Rosa received her high school

33. Parks became an African American civil rights activist. Her refusal to give up her seat to the white man was one of the main sparks of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1943, Parks became a member of the NAACP with her husband. Parks became known as the mother of the Civil Rights Movement. Rosa and her husband lost their jobs for participating in the Montgomery Bus Boycott and they ended up moving to Detroit, Michigan, taking Rosa’s mother with them. In Michigan, Parks came to be a member of the staff of Michigan Congress man John Conyers Jr. (American Women’s History).
In the 1...

... middle of paper ...

...without these happenings, things would be much different than they are today.

Works Cited
Bacmer, Randall. "In God We Trust" Religion in the Twentith Century America. 1 December 2001. 21 April 2014 .
—. "In God We Trust" Religion in Twentith Century America. 1 December 2001. 21 April 2014 .
Biographies, Britannica. Parks, Rosa. 1 March 2012. 21 April 2014 .
Matthews, Glenna. American Woman's History, A Student Companion. 1 December 2000. 21 April 2014 .
—. sks.sirs.com. 1 December 2000. 21 April 2014 .
Rosa Parks & The Montgomery Bus Boycott. 2008. 21 April 2014 .
(Biographies) (Rosa Parks & The Montgomery Bus Boycott)

Show More
Related

  • Touchdown Jesus by Robert Laurence Moore

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    Robert Laurence Moore has written a delightful, enlightening, and provocative survey of American church history centered around the theme of "mixing" the "sacred" with the "secular" and vice versa. The major points of conversation covered include the polarization caused by the public display of religious symbols, the important contribution that women and Africans have made to the American religious mosaic, the harmony and friction that has existed between science and religion, the impact of immigration on religious pluralism, and the twin push toward the union and separation of religion and politics.

    Read More

  • How Did Emmett Till Dehumanized

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Homosexuality Debate: Conference of United States Religious Leaders and Ministers

    2080 Words  | 5 Pages

    Roof, Wade Clark. "Contemporary Conflicts: Tradition vs. Transformation." Contemporary American Religion. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2000. 226-27. Print.

    Read More

  • Rosa Parks: Life and Times

    1974 Words  | 4 Pages

    Life - Rosa Parks was born only a month before world war one started in Europe on February 4, 1913. Parks mother worked as a school teacher in Tuskegee, Alabama. James McCauley, Rosa's dad was a carpenter. They lived in Tuskegee and owned farmland of their own. After Sylvester was born, Rosa's little brother, her father left them and went off to live in another town. He had been cheated out of his farmland by a white man and couldn't support the family any longer. Rosa her mother and her brother then moved to live with her grandparents on a farm in Pinelevel, which lay between Tuskegee and Montgomery, Alabama. It was a small plot of land, but it kept them all fed. From this point on Rosa was mainly brought up by her Grandparents with the assistance of her mother. Rosa gave up school when she came close to graduating, around the same time Rosa got married. Raymond Parks married Rosa McCauley December 18, 1932. He was a barber from Wedowee County, Alabama. He had little formal education but a thirst for knowledge. Her husband, Raymond Parks, encouraged her to finish her courses. In 1934 she received her diploma from Alabama State College. She was happy that she completed her education but had little hope of getting a better job. When Rosa had finished school she was lucky enough to get a job as a seamstress in a local sewing factory. Prior to the bus incident Rosa was still fighting. She had run-ins with bus drivers and was evicted from buses. Parks recalls the humiliation: "I didn't want to pay my fare and then go around the back door, because many times, even if you did that, you might not get on the bus at all. They'd probably shut the door, drive off, and leave you standing there."

    Read More

  • Rosa Parks Research Paper

    1086 Words  | 3 Pages

    Rosa Louise McCauley Parks historically known as Rosa Parks, was born February 4,1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama and past away from natural causes at age 92, on October 24,2005 in Detroit, Michigan. Parks lived with her mother Leona McCauley and her father James McCauley. Ater on in 115 her brother was born Sylvester Parks her only sibling.Both of park’s parents worked, her mother was employed as a teacher and her father was employed as a carpenter . Some time later after Parks’s brother was born her mother and father separated. Once the separation was final, Parks moved with her mother to Pine Level, Alabama while her brother and father moved to Montgomery, Alabama. parks was homeschooled by her mother until age 11 and attended Industrial

    Read More

  • Wise Blood, by Flannery O’Connor

    904 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gaustad, Edwin S. The Religious History of America: The Heart of the American Story from Colonial Times to Today. N.p.: HarperOne, 2004. Print.

    Read More

  • Christianity’s Role in American Politics

    1109 Words  | 3 Pages

    Christianity’s role in America has rapidly changed over the last decades. Although it is still the most popular religion in the country its power over the people has decreased significantly. However, there are still many misconceptions towards American Christianity and in order to understand the unique nature of this religiously diverse country; one must understand its history and its citizens own views on the matter.

    Read More

  • Montgomery´s Bus Boycott

    901 Words  | 2 Pages

    Commonly, Rosa Park’s arrests for refusing to yield her seat on a bus for a White man is a popular misconception of being the primary stimulant that kindled the uproar of the historical boycott of Montgomery’s buses known today. Contrarily, unprecedented, racially provoked violence, and discriminative and segregated events prior to Parks’ conviction motivated leaders to organize their communities for the challenge to break barriers of government’s disregards to Negro’s rights and race equality. Parks was the catalyst that spread to the community for the immediate need for change. Despite, Negroes limited sources, and assumptions they were impressionable and unintelligent; nevertheless, their stance made an economical impact to public transportation, crippled businesses’ revenue, and pressured the government to arbitrate laws against segregation. Within the short period of Parks’ arrest, Negroes were able to brainstorm various strategies that led to the success of the boycott, which included but not limited to the following: proper marketing, assertive leaders, and implementing a civil plan.

    Read More

  • Rosa Parks/Montgomery Bus Boycott

    574 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The only tired I was,was tired of giving in”. Those words were spoken by the mother of The Civil Rights Movement,Rosa Parks,who was arrested for defying segregation laws.Which called for blacks and whites to attend different schools,drink from separate water fountains,and sit in partitioned sections of the bus.Rosa Parks was honored as the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement because she was apart of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People(NAACP),she stood up for what was right,and she was a big part of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

    Read More

  • Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

    1128 Words  | 3 Pages

    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:

    Read More

  • The Impact Of The Niagara Movement

    2229 Words  | 5 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Teaching Religion and Science In Public Schools

    990 Words  | 2 Pages

    Eck, Diana L. A New Religious America: How a "Christian Country" Has Now Become the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001. Print

    Read More

  • Hinduism in the United States

    2167 Words  | 5 Pages

    Melton, J. Gordon, James A. Beverley, Constance M. Jones, and Pamela Susan Nadell. Melton's encyclopedia of American religions. 8th ed. Detroit: Gale Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.

    Read More

  • Biography of Rosa Louise McCauley

    1093 Words  | 3 Pages

    Rosa Louise McCauley was born on February 4th, 1913 to James and Leona McCauley. She was born in Tuskegee, Alabama and later moved to Montgomery, Alabama where she attended school. Parks attended the Montgomery Industrial School for Girls, a private school where she paid her tuition from cleaning the classrooms. After that she attended high school to further her education, but was forced to leave so she could take care of her mother who had become ill. After she married her husband Raymond Parks in 1932, Parks returned to school to receive her high school diploma in the year of 1934. Parks also volunteered for an organization known as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). This organization fought for the equal rights of African Americans. Many know of Parks as the African American who refused to give up her seat to a white man on the Montgomery City Bus in the year 1955, leading to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Parks once stated, “People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn’t true. I was not physically tired, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me being old. I was forty- two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in” (Parks). She continued to refuse to move from her seat on the bus, even after the driver of the bus repeatedly told Parks he was going to call the police to have her arrested if she didn’t move. She stated, “Arrest me for sitting on a bus? You may do that” (Parks). As soon as the police arrived, she was arrested for standing up for herself by refusing to move out of her seat on the bus. Parks was fined $10.00 plus $4.00 in court fees, and was given a date to ap...

    Read More

  • Comparing the Religions of Christianity and Hinduism

    2515 Words  | 6 Pages

    Eastman, Roger. The Ways of Religion: An Introduction to the Major Traditions. Third Edition. Oxford University Press. N.Y. 1999

    Read More

More about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Open Document