Rosa Parks Day

Rosa Parks (1913-2005) was an African-American civil rights activist who became an iconic figure in the movement against racial segregation in the United States. She is best known for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus to a white passenger on December 1, 1955, an act of civil disobedience that sparked a year-long boycott of the city’s bus system by African Americans.

Parks grew up in Montgomery, Alabama, where she experienced the segregation and discrimination that were endemic to the Jim Crow era in the southern United States. She became involved in civil rights activism as a young woman, joining the Montgomery chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in the 1940s.

Parks’ act of defiance on the bus in 1955 was not the first of its kind, but it became a catalyst for the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a massive protest movement that lasted for 381 days and helped to bring about the eventual desegregation of the city’s public transportation system.

After the boycott, Parks continued to be a prominent civil rights activist, working alongside figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and serving as secretary of the Montgomery branch of the NAACP. She was recognized for her contributions to the movement with numerous awards and honours, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the United States.

Overall, Rosa Parks is remembered as a courageous and determined leader who played a crucial role in the fight for civil rights and social justice in the United States. Her legacy continues to inspire people around the world to stand up for their beliefs and work towards a more just and equitable society.