Rosa Parks
Born: 4 February 1913, Tuskegee, Alabama, United States
Died: 24 October 2005, Detroit, Michigan, United States
Spouse: Raymond Parks (m. 1932–1977)
Parents: Leona McCauley, James McCauley
Awards:
o Presidential Medal of Freedom - 1996
o Congressional Gold Medal – 1999
o Spingarn Medal – 1979
o Golden Plate Awards – 1995
o NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series – 2000
Rosa Louise McCauley was an activist in the Civil Rights Movement, whom the United States
Congress called "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement"
Montgomery bus boycott
The Monday after Rosa Parks, an African American woman, was arrested for refusing to
surrender her seat to a white person, when a federal ruling, Browder v. Gayle, took effect,
and led to a United States Supreme Court decision that declared the Alabama and
Montgomery laws requiring segregated buses to be unconstitutional
Seminal event in the Civil Rights Movement
Political and social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public
transit system of Montgomery, Alabama
The campaign lasted from December 5, 1955 to December 20, 1956
Many important figures in the Civil Rights Movement took part in the boycott, including
Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy
History
Under the system of segregation used on Montgomery buses
o The ten front seats were reserved for whites at all times
o The ten back seats were supposed to be reserved for blacks at all times
o The middle section of the bus consisted of sixteen unreserved seats for whites and
blacks on a segregated basis
o Whites filled the middle seats from the front to back, and blacks filled seats from the
back to front until the bus was full
o If other black people boarded the bus, they were required to stand
o If another white person boarded the bus, then everyone in the black row nearest the
front had to get up and stand, so that a new row for white people could be created
o it was illegal for whites and blacks to sit next to each other
When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white person, she was sitting in the first
row of the middle section
Often when boarding the buses, black people were required to pay at the front, get off, and
reenter the bus through a separate door at the back
Occasionally, bus drivers would drive away before black passengers were able to reboard
National City Lines owned the Montgomery Bus Line at the time of the Montgomery bus
boycott
Born: 4 February 1913, Tuskegee, Alabama, United States
Died: 24 October 2005, Detroit, Michigan, United States
Spouse: Raymond Parks (m. 1932–1977)
Parents: Leona McCauley, James McCauley
Awards:
o Presidential Medal of Freedom - 1996
o Congressional Gold Medal – 1999
o Spingarn Medal – 1979
o Golden Plate Awards – 1995
o NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series – 2000
Rosa Louise McCauley was an activist in the Civil Rights Movement, whom the United States
Congress called "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement"
Montgomery bus boycott
The Monday after Rosa Parks, an African American woman, was arrested for refusing to
surrender her seat to a white person, when a federal ruling, Browder v. Gayle, took effect,
and led to a United States Supreme Court decision that declared the Alabama and
Montgomery laws requiring segregated buses to be unconstitutional
Seminal event in the Civil Rights Movement
Political and social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public
transit system of Montgomery, Alabama
The campaign lasted from December 5, 1955 to December 20, 1956
Many important figures in the Civil Rights Movement took part in the boycott, including
Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy
History
Under the system of segregation used on Montgomery buses
o The ten front seats were reserved for whites at all times
o The ten back seats were supposed to be reserved for blacks at all times
o The middle section of the bus consisted of sixteen unreserved seats for whites and
blacks on a segregated basis
o Whites filled the middle seats from the front to back, and blacks filled seats from the
back to front until the bus was full
o If other black people boarded the bus, they were required to stand
o If another white person boarded the bus, then everyone in the black row nearest the
front had to get up and stand, so that a new row for white people could be created
o it was illegal for whites and blacks to sit next to each other
When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white person, she was sitting in the first
row of the middle section
Often when boarding the buses, black people were required to pay at the front, get off, and
reenter the bus through a separate door at the back
Occasionally, bus drivers would drive away before black passengers were able to reboard
National City Lines owned the Montgomery Bus Line at the time of the Montgomery bus
boycott
