Rosa Parks

The Boycot in Montgomery, Alabama

Courage, commitment and determination epitomized her refusal to comply with James Blake, the bus driver, when ordered to give up her seat to a white passenger on December 1, 1955. This sparked the boycott. This act of defiance symbolized the modern Civil Rights Movement, and Rosa helped Martin Luther King, Jr. gain national prominence through her work and dedication to the movement.

On Sunday, December 4, 1955, plans for the Montgomery Bus Boycott were announced at black churches in the area, and in the Montgomery Advertiser. Those attending a church rally that night agreed unanimously to continue the boycott until they were treated with courtesy, and until black drivers were hired and the seating in the middle of the bus was handled on a first-come basis.

Four days later, Rosa Parks was tried on charges of disorderly conduct and violating a local ordinance. After thirty (30) minutes, she was found guilty and fined $10, plus $4 in court costs. She appealed her conviction and formally challenged the legality of racial segregation.

National Public Radio’s Lynn Neary interviewed her in 1992:

“I did not want to be mistreated, I did not want to be deprived of a seat that I had paid for. It was just time... there was opportunity for me to take a stand to express the way I felt about being treated in that manner. I had not planned to get arrested. I had plenty to do without having to end up in jail. But when I had to face that decision, I didn't hesitate to do so because I felt that we had endured that too long. The more we gave in, the more we complied with that kind of treatment, the more oppressive it became."

On Monday, December 5, 1955, after the success of the one-day boycott, a group of 16 to 18 people gathered at the Mt. Zion AME Zion Church to discuss boycott strategies. The group agreed that a new organization was needed to lead the boycott efforts.

Rev. Ralph David Abernathy suggested the name "Montgomery Improvement Association" (MIA). The name was adopted, and its members elected as their president a relative newcomer to Montgomery, a young and mostly unknown minister of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Uncommon Courage

Rosa Parks was willing to jeopardize her well-being in order to take a stand for that which she was committed. As a result of her action as a private citizen who was “tired on giving in”, she lost her job as a seamstress in a local department store. She then moved to Detroit, Michigan and found similar work. She served as receptionist and secretary from 1965 to 1988 to African-American I.S. Representative John Conyers. She then retired and lived a quiet life in Detroit while writing an autobiography.

She also detailed her motivation in her autobiography, “My Story”:

“People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”

In 1932, Rosa Parks married Raymond Parks who was a barber from Montgomery. Raymond was a member of the NAACP. He collected money to support the Scottsboro Boys, who were a group of black men falsely accused of raping two white women.

At her husband's urging, she finished her high school studies in 1933, which was at a time when less than 7% of African Americans had a high school diploma. Despite the Jim Crow laws that made political participation by black people difficult, she succeeded in registering to vote on her third try.

Awards and Honors

Rosa Parks received many honors and awards. She was given the 1979 Spingarn Medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal, and a posthumous statue in the United States Capitol's National Statuary Hall. She was also granted the posthumous honor of lying in state at the Capitol Rotunda.

In 1990, she was part of the group welcoming Nelson Mandela, who had just been released from his imprisonment in South Africa. Upon spotting her in the reception line, Mandela called out her name and hugged her, saying, "You sustained me while I was in prison all those years."

In 1992, Rosa Parks published “Rosa Parks: My Story”, an autobiography aimed at younger readers which details her life leading up to her decision not to give up her seat. In 1995, she published her memoirs, titled “Quiet Strength”, which focuses on the role that her faith had played in her life. In 1999 Parks filmed a cameo appearance for the television series Touched by an Angel. It was to be her last appearance on film as health problems made her increasingly an invalid.

Rosa Parks has made a difference in the lives of people of all races worldwide by modeling the traits required to live a life of authenticity. She acted upon an inner knowing of what was right to do at the time regardless of any repercussions. It is an honor to have been influenced by this person during my lifetime.

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