Rosa Parks
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Rosa Parks Biography
By Shawn Landden & Chris Bowen
Table of Contents
Forward – Sage Waters Speaks
Introduction – An introduction to Rosa Parks
Timeline – Dates of major events in Rosa Parks Life
Chapter 1: In the Beggining – Before The Boycott
Chapter 2: The Boycott Begins – It all Begins
Chapter 3: The Aftermath – Whats happened to Parks since
Bibliography – Additional Resources
Forward
Rosa Parks courage to stand up for rights as a citizen of the USA inspires me to this day to stand up for the ideals of freedom & justice for all. Rosa Parks influenced many northerners & lawmakers to look squarely at the discrimination victimizing Alabamas black people, and work to correct injustice.
A vital democracy requires citizen participation! The civil rights movement must continue today as immigrants, especially Arabs and Arab look-alikes are victims of prejudice. Washington Territory and Washington State were too long dominated by the Ku Klux Klan. We need active human rights advocates today to ensure dignity for all people.
Shawn Landden [& Chris Bowen]s biography of Rosa Parks is recommended reading for all who aspire to a successful democracy today.
– Sage Waters,March, 2002
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Introduction
Many people know Rosa Parks. She was an important part of the Civil Rights Movement; she was arrested for not giving up her seat on a public bus to a white man when he wanted it. She was sick of being pushed around and shamelessly showed it by demanding respect.
After this incident the black community started a major bus boycott. It started as a laughable situation that was expected to stop in a few days but ended as a serious problem for the Montgomery Bus Company. For over a year, the black community would not ride the buses. This ended when the U.S. Supreme Court declared bus segregation unconstitutional. This victory, without a doubt, made all African Americans confident to continue the Civil Rights Movement.
Even before Rosas arrest, Montgomerys black leaders had been discussing a boycott from the buses. They used her arrest as “a spark to light the fire that is the boycott”. That is why the name Rosa Parks will be remembered for years to come.
In this biography you will read about Rosa Parks life before the boycott including her childhood, education, jobs, and ambitions. You will also learn about her life during the boycott, which will include her struggle toward her goals, and her life after the boycott, which will include her continuing work for civil rights.
I hope you learn many things about Rosa Parks and her life, in this Biography, and I hope you remember the name Rosa Parks for years to come.
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Timeline
February 4, 1913
Rosa McCauley born in Tuskegee Alabama
Enters school in Pine Level, Alabama
Begins attending school in Montgomery
Leaves school to care for grandmother
December 1932
Marries Raymond Parks in Pine Level
Receives high school degree
December 1943
Becomes secretary of NAACP
Is denied after trying to register to vote
Is denied once more trying to register to vote
Finally receives voting certificate
Advisor of NAACP Youth Council
Summer 1955
Attends workshop in Highlander Folk School in Monteagle, Tennessee for the first time
August 1955
Meets Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
December 1, 1955
Arrested for not giving up her seat to a white man.
December 5, 1955
Stands Trial; found guilty
Attends meeting of ministers who have formed the Montgomery Improvement Association
Start ofMontgomery, Alabama Bus Boycott
January 1956
Loses job at Montgomery Fair Department store
February 21 1956
Reindicted for boycotting
November 13 1956
Segregation on Montgomery buses declared unconstitutional by United States Supreme Court
December 21 1956
Boycotters return to buses
Rosa moves to Detroit
Attends Civil Rights March on Washington
March 1965
Participates in Selma-to-Montgomery march
Begins working for congressman John Conyers in Detroit
Raymond Parks Dies
Leona McCauley (Rosas Mother) dies
Founds the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development
September 1988
Retires from working for John Conyers
Attends dedication to Civil Right memorial in Montgomery, Alabama
February 28 1991
Bust of Rosa Parks unveiled at Smithsonian
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Chapter 1: In the Beggining
Rosa Louise McCauley was born in Tuskegee, Alabama on February 4, 1913. Her parents were Leona Edwards and James McCauley. Her father was a carpenter. Rosas Mother was a teacher. This meant that Leona could home-school Rosa, which she did until Rosa was eleven. When Rosa was two, her family moved to Pine Level, Alabama and lived with her maternal