Rosa Parks: the woman who refused to stand down

Rosa Parks

She was called “The First Lady of Civil Rights” and “The Mother of the Freedom Movement”. December 1 is now known as Rosa Parks Day.

Childhood and NAACP

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was born on February 4, 1913, in Alabama. Her father was a carpenter and her mother was a teacher. Her parents were separated at a young age and she lived with her mother near Montgomery.

She attended a school for black children. Her small, one-room school remained closed seven months a year. The ruling party at that time imposed segregation on all public services, and schools for black people had very low funds. Parks witnessed terrible discrimination every day as a child. She said, “I’d see the bus pass every day. But to me, that was a way of life; we had no choice but to accept what was the custom. The bus was among the first ways I realized there was a black world and the white world.”

She went on to attend a secondary school that was set up for “Negroes” by the state of Alabama but was sent back home to care for her ill mother and grandmother.

In 1932, she married Raymond Parks, who was a barber and a member of the National Association of Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP), a civil rights organization of African-Americans. Through Raymond, she got involved in the NAACP. She helped to collect funds to support the Scottsboro Boys, a group of black men who were wrongly accused of committing rape. She worked hard for money, and in 1993, she got her high school degree after her husband encouraged her to do so. Parks was elected as the Secretary of NAACP in 1943. She utilized her position to look closely at the Recy Taylor gang rape case. Her investigation raised awareness among local activists, and once the press caught on

, the incident was published globally.

 

The bus ride to remember

“I am tired of giving in!” –Rosa Parks

In 1955, Parks was working as a seamstress. On December 1, Parks boarded a bus and took a seat in the section for black people. A white guy, who couldn’t find any other seat, asked Parks to stand up so that he could sit down. Parks refused the outrageous demand and didn’t stand up.

Though Parks was not the first person to do this, her defiance was the spark that was needed for the fire to catch. Police arrested Parks and it began the famous “Montgomery Bus Boycott” where Martin Luther King Jr. led black people to a historic, non-violent protest by boycotting the bus service. This movement was critical in establishing the equality of black people. Her arrest was a rallying point for all civil rights activists. She later said, “I only knew that, as I was being arrested, that it was the very last time that I would ever ride in humiliation of this kind.”

After the storm

Though her actions were brave and revolutionary, she had to suffer for them as both she and her husband were sacked from their respective jobs. Unable to find a job in Montgomery, she moved to Detroit in 1957. After doing some small jobs up till 1965, she was hired by John Conyers, a U.S. Representative, as a secretary in the congressional office.

In the ’70s, she lost her husband, brother, and mother in quick succession. Without a family, she turned her focus to civil rights organizations. She later published a book titled “Rosa Parks: My Story”, where she wrote about her life and the incidents that led her to the point where she refused to give up her seat. Despite her fame, she was not wealthy, as she donated most of her income to civil rights causes. She died in 2005 and became the first woman to be cremated at the Capitol Rotunda.

Rosa Parks was a woman of tremendous willpower. She inspired people to never give up and keep fighting until their last breaths. She was the leader who had the courage to actually step up and stand in defiance.

‘I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.’ -Rosa Parks