10 Interesting Facts about Rosa Parks

A group of activist should have known one of these following facts about Rosa Parks below. Rosa Parks indeed is really famous among civil-rights activists. She, as you know, was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S Congress called “the first lady of civil rights” and “the mother of the freedom movement”. Her role on dedicating her life on civil-rights brought her to fame. Therefore, to get to know more about her, below are other facts about Rosa Parks you may consider interesting.

Facts about Rosa Parks 1: The Famous Bus Ride

In Montgomery, Alabama, on December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks made history by being the black woman who refused to obey the driver of the bus when he gave her the order to give up her seat on the city bus to make room for a white passenger. Her actions sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and made history. Her refusal became a key part of the modern movement for civil rights, and her actions sparked further action and set an example for many.

Facts about Rosa Parks 2: Work with Martin Luther King Jr.

Rosa Parks’ actions on that Montgomery bus gave her a legitimacy and made her an internationally recognized symbol of civil rights. Because of her prominent stance as a protestor of segregation based on race, she started interacting with and became a help to some of the other most famous civil rights activists, including Martin Luther King, Jr. Many of her actions helped him to gain a strong presence in the nation, and help keep the civil rights movement going forward.

Facts about Rosa Parks 3: Honors and Awards

One of the reasons we still speak of Rosa Parks besides her role in the civil rights movement is because of the amount of recognitions and awards she received for the role that she played in the civil rights movement. She was highly honored for her part, in 1979 she won the Spingarn Medal; she won the Congressional Gold Medal; she is honored in a posthumous statue in the United States Capitol’s National Statuary Hall; and was given the posthumous honor of lying at the Capitol Rotunda.

Facts about Rosa Parks 4: Her Stance

The reason Rosa Parks stance was so huge in the civil rights movement is because it challenged something many just took as a fundamental rule of society. During her time, there were rules that governed bus usage, some of which included that Blacks were to pay at the front of the bus, but must then get off the bus and walk to the back entrance to be seated. Blacks could not sit in the front of the bus, as the first four rows were reserved for white people. Blacks who sat in middle rows were required to give up their seat if a white person needed one. Rosa bucked the rules and did so on her own, changing the face of history.

Facts about Rosa Parks 5: Montgomery Bus Boycott

Parks sparked a revolution. Her refusal to give up her seat, and subsequent arrest for something so trivial, led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. It was organized on her behalf, and announced at church and in the paper. The boycott was well organized, rallies formed, and many kept the boycott up until they got some of their demands.

Facts about Rosa Parks 6: The MIA

The Montgomery Bus Boycott led to the formation of a new organization, the Montgomery Improvement Association. This formation was created to lead the boycott, and once of the first leaders was the to-date relatively unknown, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. So, Rosa Parks was the reason for the boycott, thus the formation of the MIA, and part of Martin Luther King, Jr. rise to fame.

Facts about Rosa Parks 7: International News

Parks’ actions were not something normal, and thus the whole situation was publicized, and brought international attention to the issue of racial discrimination. The US was not the only place where people were discriminated against because of color, and Rosa’s stand inspired boycotts in other parts of the world as well, including a bus boycott in the township of Alexandria, Eastern Cape of South Africa.

Facts about Rosa Parks 8: Browder versus Gayle

Rosa Parks was directly connected to this federal lawsuit that was used to change the state bus segregation laws. This is the suit that led to the laws being challenged, and eventually to segregation laws changing and being lifted.

Facts about Rosa Parks 9: Her Sacrifice

As a result of her stand, Rosa was arrested, mistreated, lost her job, and became a public figure, constantly a person being either looked to for inspiration, or spat on to make an example of. Her husband also lost his job, and her family lost much of their privacy.

Facts about Rosa Parks 10: Autobiography

Rosa Parks did not just inspire change during the civil rights movement, but through an autobiography she wrote in 1992, aimed at the youth today, she inspired many to stand up for their beliefs, and understand the difference one person can make.

Through her autobiography, you are able to read other facts about Rosa Parks. Those mentioned facts are only a little part of Rosa Park’s life to defend civil right. Hope you found those Rosa Parks facts interesting and useful for your inspiration.