Untitled Document
 Rosa
Parks is an African-American woman who changed her nation. She bravely fought against discrimination and fought
for freedom. She refused to be treated as a second-class citizen and stood firmly. Today, she is called
“the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement.”
Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913 in Alabama. She worked as
a seamstress most of her life.
Rosa was just an ordinary hard-working woman. So why
is she so famous? This is because she
had a firm and quiet strength to change things
that were unjust. In the early 1950s,
African-Americans were treated unfairly.
On December 1, 1955, Rosa got on a bus to go home after work. She
was very tired after a long day’s work. When she got on the bus, she
found a seat near the bus driver and she sat there. But a white man
got on the bus and the bus driver ordered Rosa to move to the
back of the bus to make extra seats for whites.
But Rosa refused to give up her seat to the white
man. She thought it was very unfair. Under other circumstances, she would
have probably given up her seat
willingly to a child or elderly person. But this
time, Parks was tired of the treatment African-Americans
received every day of their
lives. That night, she was arrested and convicted for disorderly conduct.
The next day, 50 leaders of the African-American community, headed by Martin
Luther King, Jr., gathered to discuss the proper actions to be taken after
Rosa’s arrest. They decided not to use public buses. The entire black community didn’t get
on public buses for 381 days.
 Finally, in November, 1956,
the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on transportation is unconstitutional. This event
helped spark many other protests against racism. Afterwards, Parks became
an icon of the civil rights
movement.
Rosa Parks has traveled throughout the world, receiving honors and awards for her efforts toward racial harmony. Now she lives in
Detroit. She is still active in fighting racial
injustices. And she is still
standing up for what she
believes in and sharing her message with others. |
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