Rosa died of natural causes in 2005 at the age of 92. Rosa also wrote a number of books about her life. In 1987, they also set up a centre in Detroit helping young black people to find job opportunities – the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development. They moved to Hampton, Virginia, and later to Detroit, Michigan, where they continued supporting the civil rights movement. She and Raymond lost their jobs and were threatened by people who didn’t agree with their views. This eventually led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ensuring equal rights for all Americans and making segregation in public places unlawful.Īfter the bus boycott, however, Rosa’s life was difficult. As a well-spoken, respected working woman, Rosa’s voice was heard, and by challenging the law she inspired a wider civil rights movement across America. Rosa’s actions and the demonstrations that followed showed that non-violent mass protests could make a difference. Eventually the bus segregation laws in Alabama were changed and African Americans were free to sit wherever they chose. The boycott lasted 381 days and the bus companies lost a lot of money. On the day of Rosa’s trial, 90 per cent of Montgomery’s African Americans (about 40,000 people) boycotted the buses, choosing to walk to work, or taking bicycles or shared cars and taxis. They encouraged other African Americans to do the same. Other leading African Americans, including Martin Luther King Jr, supported Rosa and decided to boycott (stop using) the city’s buses. She refused, taking her case to the high court, because she believed the law was wrong, not her behaviour. Rosa was arrested for breaking a segregation law and had to pay a fine. Rosa Parks being fingerprinted after her arrest for breaking the segregation law When the driver threatened to call the police, Rosa sat still. With all the seats taken, the bus driver told Rosa and some other African Americans to stand up. Rosa was taking the bus home when a white man boarded. Then on 1 December 1955 everything changed. When she took the bus to work, she had to use seats reserved for black people at the back, or stand (even if there were empty seats up front). Rosa worked as a seamstress at a department store in the city. They even had to use different toilets and drinking fountains. White and black people went to different schools, shops, libraries, restaurants, theatres and churches. In reality this meant cities were segregated (divided). At the time, southern states followed ‘Jim Crow laws’ giving ‘separate but equal’ status to African Americans. They wanted to do something about the treatment of black people and believed all Americans should be equal, regardless of their colour. He was also involved in the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and Rosa became the first woman to join the group in Montgomery. Raymond encouraged Rosa to return to high school to gain her diploma. To support the family, Rosa learnt to type and began sewing.Īt 19, Rosa married Raymond Parks, a barber. Rosa studied hard, but had to leave school at 16 to care for her dying grandmother and her sick mother. When Rosa walked to the local school for African-American children, she saw the bus taking white children to the ‘better’ school in town. Rosa was taught by her mother, but at 11 went to live with an aunt in Montgomery to continue her education. Rosa’s grandparents were former slaves and Rosa lived in a world where it was normal for black children and white children to lead different lives. Rosa, her mother and younger brother Sylvester moved to their grandparents’ farm nearby. When Rosa was two, her parents separated. Her father James was a carpenter and her mother Leona a teacher. Rosa Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley in Tuskegee, Alabama, USA, in 1913. “I believe we are here on the planet Earth to live, grow up and do what we can to make this world a better place for all people to enjoy freedom.” A Short Biography of Rosa Parks “You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it’s right.” “All I was doing was trying to get home from work.” – the first full-length statue of an African American in the US Capitol.
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