Rosa Parks Taking A Stand Essay

Civil rights activist Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama. At the age of two she moved to her grandparents' farm in Pine Level, Alabama with her mother and younger brother, Sylvester. At the age of 11 she enrolled in the Montgomery Industrial School for Girls, a private school founded by liberal-minded women from the northern United States. The school's philosophy of self-worth was consistent with Leona McCauley's advice to "take advantage of the opportunities, no matter how few they were." Her refusal to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus spurred a city-wide boycott. The city of Montgomery had no choice but to lift the law requiring segregation on public buses. Rosa Parks

Throughout the African American civil rights movement opportunities were sought to spark a chance at improving conditions in the south. Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on the Montgomery, Alabama bus was the fire to that spark. Rosa, standing up for herself something anyone person in today’s world would do, was arrested and put in jail. While Rosa was in jail she caught the eye of many people in the Civil Rights Movement, including the leaders. The Civil Rights leaders protested her arrest and hired lawyers to aid her in her trial. Although she was found guilty and was fined fourteen dollars for the cost of the court case, which lasted on thirty minutes, she wasn’t done yet. Rosa Parks has affected the society we live in today in

Her father decided to go further north, but her mother didn't want to stay in

The evening of December 1, 1955, one single woman changed the lives of many people and the way that they would continue to live. Rosa Parks exhibited one woman's courage and strength to stand up for what she believed in. Mrs. Parks's decision to remain seated and go against the "Believed way" sparked the beginning of the American Civil Rights Movement. In this paper I will discuss Rosa Parks's background, her decision against standing up, and how she started the beginning of the American Civil Rights Movement.

As a few white passengers boarded the bus and the white sections were already full so the driver shouted back at four black people including Rosa Parks “Move y'all, I want those two seats”. As this demand was made by the driver 3 of the bus riders obeyed to what was shouted back, however Rosa Parks remained in her seat and was determined not to move. She was arrested following the bus drivers order and fined ten dollars. This, however small incited a great wave of bus boycotts which in Montgomery black people chose not to ride the bus for a period of 381 days. This still to date is known as the moment in which the civil rights movement started to gain headway. It was the will of one woman who decided it was time for black people to take a stand and from this point on Martin Luther King was assigned to take this boycott on. Although he was assigned to take this on people also felt as he was young, fresh and people had not formulated enough of an opinion of him, there was little room for him to be hated yet so he posed as the right figure to lead this. After the many days of boycotting the case of this transport issue in Alabama went to the Supreme Court. Here it was decided that segregation was declared as unconstitutional so segregation by law was no

Rosa Parks, also called the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement,” was given the NAACP's Spingarn Medal and the Martin Luther King, Jr. nonviolent-peace prize. Rosa Parks was also awarded the Eleanor Roosevelt Woman of Courage award in 1984. Rosa’s influence and impact on the society is one that can never be replaced. Rosa was not only the person who took that seat, but she has plenty of respect because of her personality as a strong willed woman. Where did all this began?

Attention Grabber: catch the reader’s attention (Can be a surprising statistic, a rhetorical question, an anecdote or a summary of a fact)-Rosa Parks didn’t STAND UP for her civil rights, she SAT DOWN for them.

Civil Disobedience is the act of purposely opposing and breaking a law that has been created by the government. When one hears the word "disobedience", one pulls a negative connotation from it; however, Civil Disobedience can sometimes lead to great and immense positive change that can benefit society as a whole. Two wonderful examples of this can be seen in Rosa Parks' refusal to relinquish her seat to a white man, and in MLK'S "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" where he states why he and his fellow marchers must continue to practice Civil Disobedience and to march despite being told they would be arrested if they did so.

Rosa Parks was known for her unplanned act of defiance that lead to the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955 (Dudley 258). The attributes that she contributed to Civil Rights was her commitment to the cause, her positive attitude, and her ability to inspire others. Rosa Parks had got onto a public bus after a long day of work, and her feet were hurting, so she decided to sit in the white section. The white people complained and the bus driver told her if she did not get up, then she would be arrested. Nevertheless, with Rosa Park’s refusal to get up, it led to her arrest. Due to her commitment to the cause she stood up for racial equality, and though all of the turmoil she encountered she kept a positive attitude. Her ability to inspire others was remarkable, therefore it led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The boycott was due to the fact that African Americans were exasperated due to the fact that they were not being treated equally. This then led to all African Americans walking to and from wherever they were

Spearheading the Montgomery Boycott was just one of King’s noteworthy accomplishments along the realms of non-violent direct action. Sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks after her refusal to relinquish her seat on a city bus, the Montgomery Boycott was a year-long bus boycott in protest against the unjust laws that segregated public buses (Azbell 114). King was chosen by community leaders of the Montgomery Improvement Association to lead said

Both texts were speeches given by President Barack Obama about Rosa Parks and her accomplishments. The texts showed that he had a positive opinion about Rosa Parks and everything she did for the civil rights movement. Rosa Parks’ actions helped the civil rights movement propel forward and end desegregation. She refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man and ended desegregation. This goes to show that one small act may have large and far-reaching effects.

Informative speech outline- courtesy of Tiffany Smith who gave this speech right after Rosa Parks died.

I’m sure everyone heard of Martin Luther King. But I bet you didn’t know the story to what he did. Martin Luther King led the Boycott march. According to “Martin Luther King Jr., a timely leader”it said “ Led by King the African American community boycotted Montgomery and refuse to ride the bus.” During the boycott whites had threatened the blacks. African Americans had to walk to wherever they need to go. Until, the early 1957 the Montgomery city had gave in and ended segregation. Now everyone Heard

Rosa Parks was the center of one of the greatest civil rights movements in the mid-20th-century. She became an icon due to her calm refusal to give up her seat to a white man, which triggered the Montgomery Bus Boycott beginning in 1955 (Baggett, 2016). Rosa Parks acted with courage and stood up for what she believed in; paving the way for many American citizens to follow in her footsteps - or lack of footsteps. She stayed true to herself and inspired others to take similar courageous actions throughout the civil rights movement in America.

In 1900, Montgomery passed a city law to segregate bus passengers by race. Bus Drivers were empowered to assign seats to achieve that goal. According to the law, no passenger would be required to move or give up his seat and stand if the bus was crowded and no other seats were available. Montgomery bus drivers agreed to require black riders to move when there were no white-only seats left. The first four rows of seats on a Montgomery bus were reserved for whites. Buses had "colored" sections for African Americans usually in the rear of the bus. African Americans could sit in the middle rows until the white section filled. African Americans could not sit in the same row or across the aisle as white people. For years, the black community had