Rosa+Parks

 toc Rosa Louise Parks

=Biography=

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Rosa Louise Parks, daughter of James McCauley and Leona Edwards was born on February 4th, 1913 on Tuskegee, Alabama U.S. and died on October 24th, 2005 at the age of 92. She lived in Montgomery, Alabama and operated in this place. The American population likes to call her "Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement ." Rosa Louise Parks became famous because she was the one who started the Montgomery bus strike.

The racism in U.S was a terrible thing. This subject always angered Rosa Louise. After a day at work at Montgomery Fair department store, Rosa Louise Parks boarded the Cleveland Avenue bus at around 6 p.m., Thursday, December 1, 1955, in downtown Montgomery. She paid her fare and sat in an empty seat in the first row of back seats kept for blacks in the "colored" section, which was near the middle of the bus and directly behind the ten seats kept for white passengers. At first, Rosa did not notice that the bus driver was the same man, James F. Blake, who had left her in the rain in 1943. As the bus traveled along its regular route, all of the white-only seats in the bus filled up. The bus got to the third stop in front of the Empire Theater, and several white passengers boarded. When she refused to give up her seat, the driver said, "Y'all better make it light on yourselves and let me have those seats." Three of them complied. The driver wanted them to stand up, the four of them. They didn't move at the beginning, but the driver said, 'Let me have these seats.' And the other three people moved, but Rosa didn't. Rosa would have to know for once and for all what rights she had as a human being and a citizen. She knew this the right thing to do. Of course, Rosa didn't know that her action was going to change the whole black population's life. The black man sitting next to her gave up his seat. Rosa moved, but toward the window seat; she did not get up to move to the newly repositioned colored section. Then, the driver said: "Why don't you stand up?" but she responded, "I don't think I should have to stand up." The driver got angry and called the police to arrest Rosa Louise Parks.

Rosa did not want to be mistreated; she did not want to be deprived of a seat that she 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". Rosa had not planned to get arrested. She had plenty to do without having to end up in jail. But when Rosa had to face that decision, she didn't hesitate to do so because she felt that they had endured that too long. The more they gave in, the more they complied with that kind of treatment, the more oppressive it became.

They were fighting to end the segregation laws in Montgomery. The laws allowed black people to sit in the back of the bus only, and if a white person stood, they were to give up their seat. In Montgomery, black people learned in different colleges, drank at different fountains and sat on different park benches. This all had to end. Rosa was part of a group of activists who decided to say no. The leader of this human rights movement was Martin Luther King Jr. who was a clergyman. He called for the Montgomery bus strike which lasted almost a full year. For almost a full year, no African- American used the public buses in Montgomery. This caused the Supreme Court to declare the Montgomery laws as unconstitutional. King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. There, he raised public consciousness of the civil rights movement and established himself as one of the greatest orators (=speech givers) in U.S. history. In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Unfortunately, he was murdered in 1968.

Rosa parks were a wonderful person, a strong woman, a brave woman. Rosa Parks dared to stop the discrimination against African Americans. She chose to act where others just went on. She chose to fight back when others believed nothing can be done. She chose to show the world that the Jim Crow Laws in Montgomery were unconstitutional. Did she work alone? No. She was part of a group of activists that were organized to fight back. Martin Luther King was their speaker. Yet, she was the one who paid a personal price. She was the one who was arrested. She was the one, who had no job. She was the one, who people were afraid of. Was she recognized for her actions? Do we have a Rosa Parks day? Do we have a way of learning about her, after her death? Yes, a statue of hers was placed in the capitol, highways and street were named for her and she had received many honors throughout her long life. What we really need is to learn about her personally. How she dreamed for a better future. We must learn how she single handedly (almost) stopped an oppression of a whole sector. We must learn how to face the impossible and to create change. We must believe in ourselves because that is her legacy.

=Identity Card=


 * Full name: ** Rosa Louise Parks.
 * Parents' Names: ** James McCauley and Leona Edwards
 * Date of birth: ** February 4, 1913.
 * Where born: ** Tuskegee, Alabama U.S.
 * Died: ** October 24th, 2005 (aged 92).
 * Occupation: ** Civil Rights Activist.
 * Called: ** "Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement ."
 * Place: ** Montgomery, Alabama
 * What is she famous for: ** She was the one who started the Montgomery bus strike.

=Interview=

Tell us about yourself – I was born in Rosa Louise McCauley    Tuskegee, Alabama, U.S.   After a day at work at Montgomery Fair department store, I boarded the Cleveland Avenue bus at around 6 p.m., Thursday, December 1, 1955, in downtown Montgomery. I paid my fare and sat in an empty seat in the first row of back seats kept for blacks in the "colored" section, which was near the middle of the bus and directly behind the ten seats kept for white passengers. At first, I did not notice that the bus driver was the same man, James F. Blake, who had left me in the rain in 1943. As the bus traveled along its regular route, all of the white-only seats in the bus filled up. The bus got to the third stop in front of the Empire Theater, and several white passengers boarded. When I refused to give up my seat, the driver said, "Y'all better make it light on yourselves and let me have those seats." Three of them complied. The driver wanted us to stand up, the four of us. We didn't move at the beginning, but he says, 'Let me have these seats.' And the other three people moved, but I didn't. The black man sitting next to me gave up his seat. I moved, but toward the window seat; I did not get up to move to the newly repositioned colored section. Then, the driver said: "Why don't you stand up?" but I responded, "I don't think I should have to stand up." The driver got angry and called the police to arrest me.
 * 1. **** Where did you grow up? **
 * 2. **** What exactly happened on the bus? **

The racism in U.S was a terrible thing. This subject always angered me. When the driver asked me to change my place I knew this the right thing to do. I would have to know for once and for all what rights I had as a human being and a citizen. Of course, I didn't know that my action was going to change the whole black population's life. 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 an 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.
 * 3. **** How do you get the courage, to insist on sitting even after the driver asked you to change a seat? **

As a child I remember the Ku Klux Klan marching down the street in front of my house, I recall my grandfather guarding the front door with a shotgun. The Montgomery Industrial School, founded and staffed by white northerners for black children, was burned twice by arsonists. My area was full of hatred towards the blacks. In 1932, I married Raymond Parks, a barber from Montgomery, at my mother's house. Raymond was a member of the NAACP, at the time collecting money to support the Scottsboro Boys, a group of black men falsely accused of raping two white women. After my marriage, I took many jobs, such as a house cleaner and a hospital aide. As I insisted, I finished my high school studies in 1933, 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, I succeeded in registering to vote on my third try. In December 1943, I became active in the Civil Rights Movement, We were fighting to end the segregation laws in Montgomery. The laws allowed black people to sit in the back of the bus only, and if a white person stood, they were to give up their seat. In Montgomery, black people learned in different colleges, drank at different fountains and sat on different park benches. This all had to end. I was part of a group of activists who decided to say no.
 * 4. **** What were your early life activities before you got arrested? **
 * 5. **** What is your struggle about? **

The leader of this human rights movement was Martin Luther King Jr. who was a clergyman. He called for the Montgomery bus strike which lasted almost a full year. For almost a full year, no African- American used the public buses in Montgomery. This caused the Supreme Court to declare the Montgomery laws as unconstitutional. King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. There, he raised public consciousness of the civil rights movement and established himself as one of the greatest orators (=speech givers) in U.S. history. In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Unfortunately, he was murdered in 1968. Yes, I think today every person knows they are free and can travel, study and work wherever they choose, with no consideration of the color of their skin.
 * 6. **** Who helped you in the struggle and how? **
 * 7. **** Do you think that you succeeded to change something in the essence of the USA? **

After my arrest, I became an icon of the Civil Rights Movement but suffered hardships as a result. I lost my job at the department store, and my husband quit his job after his boss forbade him from talking about his wife or the legal case. I traveled and spoke everywhere I was invited. In 1957, my husband and I left Montgomery for Hampton, Virginia ; mostly because I was unable to find work, but also because of disagreements with King and other leaders of Montgomery's struggling civil rights movement. In Hampton, I found a job as a hostess in an inn at black Hampton Institute. Later that year, after the urging of my brother and sister-in-law, my husband and my mother moved to Detroit, Michigan.
 * 8. **** What did you do after the bus event? **

I hope that American's understand under what pressure we were working and to see that these laws never come back. I hope youngsters who see wrongdoings will be willing to fight to correct them as I did, with no fear from the authorities **. **
 * 9. **** How do you want the American population to remember you? **

I got most of the awards very late in life, with relatively few awards and honors being given to me until many decades after the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In 1979, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People awarded me the Spingarn Medal, its highest honor, and I received the Martin Luther King Jr. Award the next year. I was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 1983 for my achievements in civil rights. In 1990, I was called at the last moment to be part of the group welcoming Nelson Mandela, who had just been released from his imprisonment in South Africa. In 1992, I received the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award along with Dr. Benjamin Spock and others at the Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston, Massachusetts. On September 9th, 1996, President Bill Clinton presented me with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor given by the U.S. executive branch. In 1998, I became the first recipient of the International Freedom Conductor Award given by the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. The next year, I was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award given by the U.S. legislative branch and also received the Detroit-Windsor International Freedom Festival Freedom Award. I was a guest of President Bill Clinton during his 1999 State of the Union Address.
 * 10. **** Which awards and honors you get? **

=Speech= Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today we remember a wonderful person, a strong woman, a brave woman. Rosa Parks dared to stop the discrimination against African Americans. She chose to act where others just went on. She chose to fight back when others believed nothing can be done. She chose to show the world that the Jim Crow Laws in Montgomery were unconstitutional.

Did she work alone? No. She was part of a group of activists that were organized to fight back. Martin Luther King was their speaker. Yet, she was the one who paid a personal price. She was the one who was arrested. She was the one, who had no job. She was the one, who people were afraid of.

Was she recognized for her actions? Do we have a Rosa Parks day? Do we have a way of learning about her, after her death? Yes, a statue of hers was placed in the capitol, highways and street were named for her and she had received many honors throughout her long life.

What we really need is to learn about her personally. How she dreamed for a better future. We must learn how she single handedly (almost) stopped an oppression of a whole sector. We must learn how to face the impossible and to create change. We must believe in ourselves because that is her legacy.

=Rationale= We chose to work on the project about Rosa Louise Parks and what she did. We learned about a strong and special woman. We all must learn something from this uncommon woman. We hope to have determination like Rosa Louise Parks and we hope that we can to fight about our events which disturb us.

We found it interesting that a country such as the U.S.A. which claimed to be free and equal for all had such a discrimination against African Americans.

We wonder if other countries have what to learn from?

=Bibliography=


 * "Rosa Louise Parks Biography." Rosa & Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development . 01/01/2008. Rosa & Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, Web. 20 Jan 2010. []


 * "Rosa Parks Memorial Project at Mesa College." //San Diego// //Messa Site//. 10/16/2009 . San Diego Mesa College, Web. 27 Jan 2010. .

· Wikipedia contributors. "Rosa Parks." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 24 Jan. 2010. Web. 27 Jan. 2010.


 * "רוזה פארקס." //ויקיפדיה, האנציקלופדיה החופשית//. 22 ינו' 2010, 20:53 UTC. 27 ינו' 2010, 09:30 <[|http://he.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%96%D7%94_%D7%A4%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%A7%D7%A1&oldid=816716]

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