Rosa Parks By Rhea

Introduction Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist. She is best known for the Montgomery Bus boycott.

Early Years She was born Feb. 4, 1913, in Tuskegee. When she was 2 years old she moved to her grandparents home with her mother Leona and her little brother Sylvester. Rosa’s education was cut short when her mother and grandmother got very ill. Rosa left school to take care of them.

Adulthood She married Raymond Parks in, December In 1946, she voted for the first time. In 1955, December 1st Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white person. That’s when the bus boycott began. Back then people were treated unfairly just because of the color of their skin. That was called segregation. In 1987, Rosa helped open the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development. She died October 24, 2005 in Detroit, Michigan.

Fun Facts When black riders stepped on the bus to pay their 10 cent fair, they had to get on by a different door. Sometimes a driver would drive off before they even got on. One day when a white driver asked her to give up her seat Rosa said no. She was tired of being treated bad just cause of the color of her skin. She was arrested and sent to jail.

Glossary Segregation-the act of separating people because of their race or culture. Activist-A person who works for a change. Bus boycott-to refuse to ride the bus.