Contents
Rosa Parks
Defying bus segregation and helping spark the Montgomery boycott.
Montgomery · Civil rights
- Born
- 4 February 1913
- Birthplace
- Tuskegee, Alabama, USA
- Died
- 24 October 2005
More people
Rosa Parks
An American activist whose famous bus protest grew from years of organising against racial injustice.
Early life
Alabama childhood
Grew up under segregation, including in Pine Level.
Family influences
Her mother was a teacher and her father a carpenter.
Career
- 1943
NAACP organiser
Became secretary of the Montgomery branch.
- 1955
Bus protest
Was arrested after refusing to surrender her seat.
- 1957
Move to Detroit
Continued civil-rights activity after leaving Alabama.
- 1965–1988
Congressional staff
Worked for US representative John Conyers.
Contributions
Investigating injustice
Organised around cases of racial and sexual violence.
Montgomery boycott
Her arrest helped trigger the sustained campaign against segregated buses.
Youth institute
Co-founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development.
Beyond work
Marriage
Married Raymond Parks in 1932.
Community service
Continued supporting young people and civil-rights causes in later life.
Sources & photo credit
Biographical reference ↗National Park Service: Rosa Parks ↗Photo: Unknown author Unknown author. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
.jpg){kind=link}