Rosa Parks – Mother of All Civil Rights Movements Essay Example

clothes maker ended when Parks lost her job and faced harassment and death threats during the Montgomery Bus Boycott and even after the boycott (Editors, History.com “Rosa Parks” 3). She stood up for equality and what is right even though the consequences were bad. Later in her life, Parks had to become a caretaker again because her husband, mother, and brother were ill and all of them eventually died of cancer. Parks took care of them for a while when she moved to Detroit (Editors, History.com “Rosa Parks” 3). Rosa Parks was a very selfless woman, who stood up and was brave through everything, even though it was hard. She put others before herself all of the time, and that helped her lead the country.

Learning to be bold and selfless as a she grew up taught Rosa Parks to be this way when it mattered most. She stood up for many things like discrimination and equality. She helped bring about the movement that changed the world, seeing as Parks was also faced with racial discrimination and activism for racial equality (“Rosa” 4). It is said that Rosa Parks galvanized or started a people for change (Editors, History.com “Montgomery” video). Because of her amazing courage and strong will, people followed her. She promoted racial equality in every aspect of her life even if it was as small as refusing to use the segregated bathrooms or water fountains (Butler 18). Even this act of independence may seem tiny, it was quite considerable to people watching. Rosa Parks was also a part of many organizations to help end segregation. Not only was she the chapter secretary of the NAACP (National Association for the

Advancement of Colored People) (Editors, History.com “Rosa Parks” 2), she was also part of the WPC (Women’s Political Council). These women demanded the city to hire black bus drivers, and when women were getting put in prison for refusing to give up their bus seats, they informed everyone; without these women the bus boycott might never have happened (Butler 22). Even though the Montgomery Bus Boycott helped end some segregation, black people still had to fight very hard to have equality. For example, it was much harder for black people to gain even the smallest of rights like voting. Black people had to take a test in order to vote. Their tests were harder than the tests the white people had to take. On Park’s third attempt, she knew her answers were correct; she even copied them on a separate sheet of paper as proof. The clerk, afraid that Rosa Parks might file a lawsuit, let her pass (Butler 21). Parks could have gotten in a lot of trouble for this act of courage. She stood up saying that she knew what she did was correct and that she should be given this right of all citizens. Before refusing to give up her seat for a white man, Rosa Parks had a run-in with the bus driver twelve years earlier. She had gotten on the bus and paid her fair at the front like normal but refused to get off and re-enter at the back like all black people had to do. The driver, James Blake, had yanked on her coat sleeve in a way to demand her to follow the rules. She left the

bus instead of giving in (Editors, History.com “Rosa Parks” 1). Parks was very determined to prove that someone does not have to give in just because they are told to. Later, she stubbornly refused to give up her seat to a white man on a bus, sparking boycotts and demonstrations (Editors, History.com “Brown” 3). People have said that Rosa Parks did not give up her bus seat because she was physically tired from a long day of work, but she said, “No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in” (Editors, History.com “Rosa Parks” 2). Because of an act of independence, the fight to end segregation got bigger and stronger from there. Parks’ courage helped encourage the Montgomery bus boycott, which lasted until segregated seating was declared illegal or unconstitutional (Editors, History.com “Civil” 2).  After the bus boycott, Parks and her husband lost their jobs, so Parks traveled the country giving speeches to raise awareness of segregation (Butler 36). No matter what happened to Parks, she was able to continue moving on and continue to strengthen the fight against segregation everywhere. Rosa Parks was a very selfless and a very bold woman, who was never afraid to stand up for herself and speak out for others.

Not only was Rosa Parks selfless and bold, her actions helped change the way that we view and treat others, which made her a great woman. Parks unwittingly became the “mother of the modern-day civil rights movement.” (Editors, History.com “Civil” 2), and she became an icon for the Civil Rights Movement (Editors, History.com “Montgomery” video). Parks was able to help kick-start and be the focus of helping establish the Civil Rights Act, which was

passed in 1964 (Butler 44). The Civil Rights Act came from many smaller acts, many of which Rosa Parks started. Not only did she help start the Mongomery Bus Boycott, she also started other sit-ins, boycotts, and demonstrations that would change our world (Editors, History.com “Brown” 3).  The Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted 381 days and encouraged all black citizens to stay off city buses (“Rosa” 3). Eventually, segregation of city buses finally ended (“Rosa” 4). This was only the beginning. After this, there was a trial regarding the Jim Crow laws. Rosa Parks was the plaintiff in the case that people hoped would become the test of the validity of segregation laws (Editors, History.com “Rosa Parks” 2). After the case of Brown vs. the Board of Education, Jim Crow Laws (racial segregation laws) were declared unconstitutional (“Rosa” 4). The Supreme Court declared that the separate but equal doctrine has no place in schools seeing how segregated schools were extremely unequal (Editors, History.com “Brown” 2).

Rosa Parks earned many awards, which recognized her achievements in life, and showed what a great woman she was. Rosa Parks was awarded with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Bill Clinton; this award is given by the United States executive Branch and is the highest honor to be given (“Rosa” 6). She earned the Congressional Gold Medal, which is the highest honor given by the United States legislative branch, and she was named one of “The Most 20 Influential People of the 20th Century” by TIME magazine (“Rosa” 6). A museum was created at the very sight where Rosa Parks was arrested on the Montgomery bus, and a park was dedicated to her (“Rosa” 6). When Rosa

Parks died, she had several memorial services where 50,000 people came to pay their respects. Parks is currently lying at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. (“Rosa” 6). A statue was made for her, and there was a commemorative stamp that marked Rosa Parks’ 100th birthday (“Rosa” 6). Parks was an amazing woman who left a wonderful legacy for people to learn about for many generations to come.

Rosa Parks was an amazing woman who was a very strong and selfless person, she was extremely bold in her words and actions, she tremendously changed how we perceive others, and her achievements in life will forever influence our world. What made Rosa Parks so amazing and so different from others? Well, she also had a sense of independence that made her stand apart from others in the fact that people were not afraid to follow in her footsteps. She started and helped lead a revolution of difference. She drastically changed our twisted views on life that may have never changed if it was not for her and her strong will. Her courage changed the nation’s corrupt ways. Her strong will changed how people would stand up for their rights and independence. Her diligence changed how hard people worked to prove that they deserved equality like every other person. And without her, the corruption, the timidity, and the lack of force would still be a major player in this country. Without Rosa Parks, we may have never changed the corrupt ways of how we treated people with pigmented skin.