Rosa Parks
by admin - November 14th, 2013
On December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, a 42 year old African American woman by the name of Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a public bus. This seemingly insignificant decision gave way to an important chain of events that eventually led to the desegregation of public bus systems. I chose to write my blog post about Rosa Parks because I am not only inspired by her actions, but because I am also intrigued by the fact that her one decision brought so many people together to fight for such a monumental cause.
The arrest of Rosa Parks led to one of the most famous boycotts in U.S. history known as the Montgomery Bus Boycott. A large portion of the population of Montgomery, Alabama population refused to use the bus system until their Integrated Bus Suggestions were met. The large-scale boycott lasted a total of 381 days and started on the day of Mrs. Parks’ court hearing. Rosa Parks also inspired The Women’s Political Council to get involved in the matter. A letter was sent by the council to Mayor W. Gayle requesting that “1. A city law that would make it possible for Negroes to sit from back toward front, and whites from front toward back until the seats are taken. 2. That Negroes not be asked or forced to pay fare at front and go to the rear of the bus to enter. 3. The buses stop at every corner in residential sections occupied by Negroes as they do in communities where whites reside” (Robinson 1954). On November 13th of 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the segregation of the city buses was unconstitutional and Montgomery was forced to integrate its bus system.
Rosa Parks was a women of action. She decided to stand up for herself as well as her rights as a U.S. citizen. As a result many others decided it was time for them to do the same. Rosa Parks was an influential women and a great leader, and her story will always be remembered.
–Katherine B.
I agree with Katherine that there are a lot of events that Rosa Parks is responsible for influencing. While I think she is an extremely important figure in the civil rights movement, her actions may have gone unnoticed if it were not for the help of other leaders. While Rosa Parks began something by refusing to give up her seat, there were a lot of other people and organizations, such as the NAACP, Martin Luther King Jr and the sit-ins, that helped to bring significance and a long lasting impact to Rosa’s simple decision.
I think that Rosa Parks had great influence on many during the Civil Rights Movement. I think that Parks showed bravery in her decision to fight for what she believed in. However, I did not know until this year that Parks did not intend for all of her actions to take place, she was simply to tired after a long days work to move her seat. Even though her actions were not intentional or planned, I think Rosa Parks was very brave for standing up to a majority of ignorant-minded people.