1. Rosa Parks An ABC Biography

2. Elizabeth McDaniel EDU 5843 February 2, 2011 ABC book – Chapter 4

3. Introduction
The Mother of the Civil Rights movement, Rosa Parks, became a monumental part of the decade changing the United States forever. With her determination and courage, she remained seated on a bus and violated a city ordinance in which sparked a boycott lasting 382 days in Montgomery, Alabama. Rosa Parks emerged from this boycott as a strong woman assisting in one of the greatest changes the United States has ever seen. She remains as a hero to not only African Americans, but also to women.

4. Arrested
After a long day at work, Rosa Parks boarded a bus home. After the third stop, the bus became crowded and the bus driver asked Mrs. Parks and the other people on her bench to move to give their seat to the white people entering the bus. Mrs. Parks refused, thus she was arrested for disobeying the law.

5. Boycott
After her arrest, the African American’s in Montgomery, Alabama were asked by the NAACP to boycott the public transportation system on December 5, This boycott inspired 40,000 African Americans to participate. It was so successful, they continued the boycott for days; the length of time it took for the city to over rule the law of segregation on public transportation.

6. Conviction
Rosa chose not to give up her seat on the bus to her deep conviction of fair treatment. She did not believe skin color should make a difference in how people were being treated. She knew if she did not stand up for herself, then who would.

7. Dr. Martin Luther King
On December 5, 1955 (the day of the official boycott), leaders of the African American Community met at the Mt. Zion Church to discuss further action. The Montgomery Improvement Association was formed with Dr Martin Luther King set as the leader The group decided a lengthier boycott needed to be in place in order for real change to occur.

8. Eleven
At the age of 11, Rosa enrolled in a private school, Montgomery Industrial School for Girls. Leona McCauley was the founder of the school. After graduation, she attended Alabama’s State Teacher College for Negro’s but never graduated due to her grandmother’s illness.

9. Freedom
President Clinton presented Rosa Parks along with 10 other people, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996 and a Congressional Gold Medal in 1999.
The following is a list of all the winners of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Mrs. Parks was in good company.

10. Grandparents
When Rosa was 2 she moved in with her grandparents in Pine Level, Alabama along with her mother and her brother, Sylvester.

11. History
Rosa Parks is the second African American and the first woman in history to lie in the state of the Capital after her death. For 2 days, her casket laid on the rotunda on the United States Capital step in Washington so people could pay their respects.

12. Inspiration
Rosa Parks is an inspiration to all Americans. Her willingness to take a stand even when facing persecution made her an encouragement to all freedom seeking people.

13. Justify
Rosa felt she didn’t move out of her seat on the bus because the seat was justly hers. She did not feel as if she needed to justify her reason. She was a person, and all people (no matter their skin color) deserved to be treated fairly.

14. Klu Klux Klan
As a young child, Rosa could hear the Klu Klux Klan lynching somebody not far from her home or riding around at night terrifying people in her neighborhood. She once feared of waking up to her home being set on fire.

15. Lawsuit
The Montgomery Improvement Association filed a lawsuit against the city of Montgomery. On November 13, 1956 the city repealed the city ordinance stating the law unconstitutional.

16. Michigan
Rosa and her family moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1957 where she got a job as a receptionist and representative for John Conyer – a United States Representative. She also served on the Detroit board of Planned Parenthood. She moved to make a new life for her family after she and her husband lost their jobs after the boycott.

17. NAACP
In 1932, Rosa married a barber by the name of Raymond Parks. He was an active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In 1943 Rosa joined the Montgomery chapter, and served as secretary.

18. Optimism
Rosa was full of optimism during the Civil Rights movement. Even though she and her family lost their jobs and life was a struggle, she knew she was doing the right thing. She and her husband continued their work with the NAACP throughout the Civil Rights movement.

19. Pathways to Freedom
Rosa and her husband Raymond started the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development, a group which runs “Pathways to Freedom” bus tours teaching young children about important people involved in the Civil Rights and the Underground Railroad. Check out the following site for more information.
Harriet Tubman – Underground Railroad Organizer

20. Quiet Strength
Rosa wrote a novel entitle Quiet Strength, describing how religion has played an important role in her life The book accounts for her faith during the trying time in her life.

21. Racism
The Civil Rights Movement started largely due to African Americans being tired of racism. They didn’t feel it fair to be persecuted because of the color of their skin They got the courts to repeal many laws and statues because they were deemed unconstitutional Rosa parks was known as the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement. She was a pioneer for the war against racism.
To learn more about Mrs. Parks and her contributions check out the following link:

22. Schoolhouse
Until the age of 11 when Rosa Montgomery Industrial School for girls, she attended a small one room schoolhouse only for African American children. Her mother was a school teacher and taught her to read and write. The small schoolhouse received second hand books from the all the other schools across town. All of the supplies and materials were subpar in comparison.

23. Tuskegee
On February 4, 1913, Rosa Louise McCauley was born in Tuskegee, Alabama to James and Leona McCauley. Her father James was a carpenter and her mother was a school teacher.

24. United States Representative Office
After the boycott, Rosa
and her family moved to Detroit, Michigan where she worked for John Conyer, a United States Representative. She and her family had to move because she and the rest of her family lost their jobs due to the boycott. She realized in order to help her family, she had to relocate.

25. Violation
Refusing to give up her seat on the bus, Rosa Parks was in violation of Chapter 6, section 11 of the Montgomery City Code. This law states: it is unlawful for any passenger on a bus to not obey the bus driver. It states a passenger on the bus must sit according to their race and a passenger must move if requested by the driver.

26. Walk
The boycott forced over 40,000 African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama to either walk or take taxi’s driven by African Americans. Many taxi drivers lost their license if they chose to only drive African Americans around the city. The boycott lasted 382 days.

27. XCII
Rosa Parks was 92 years old when she passed away on October 24, 2005 in Detroit, Michigan. The last year of her life, she suffered with progressive dementia.

28. Yearning
Rosa Parks had a yearning to end discrimination. The day she refused to move out of her seat was a monumental day in history. Her intentions were not to create strife in the city, but rather to end her own discrimination with the bus driver. All she wanted was to sit in a seat after a long day at work – just like any other person on the bus.

29. Zeal
Rosa Parks had a real zeal for life. She worked for many years for the NAACP, wrote books, and established an organization to educate children on the pioneers of the Civil Rights movement – including information about the Underground Railroad. In 1999, Time Magazine named her one of the most influential people of the 20th century.

30. Conclusion
Rosa Parks is known as the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement, but other than starting the bus boycott, she also made other contributions to American History. She started an organization to teach children about the Civil Rights and Underground Railroad Movements, and she was also a religious lady. One of her many quotes sums up her zeal for life: Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.

31. Bibliography
Academy of Achievement
Garden of Praise
Rosa Park Biography
Scholastic.com