Montgomery, Alabama, December 1st, 1955. A black seamstress named Rosa Parks was heading home after a long day at work. She boarded a bus and found a vacant seat. Trouble was, if there weren’t enough seats on the bus for Caucasians, African Americans were supposed to give up their seats; back then that was the law in Montgomery, Alabama. As it happened, the bus soon filled up and Rosa was expected to give up her seat. Rosa Parks refused to budge. In short order, Mrs. Parks was arrested, fingerprinted and fined for violating a city ordinance.
That incident in Montgomery turned out to be a catalyst for change. Mrs. Parks’s arrest resulted in a black boycott of the city’s bus line—a boycott that ended 381 days later when the bus line caved in, on the heels of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that segregation in transportation was unconstitutional.
The incident in Montgomery transformed Rosa Parks into a national figure and a major role model as well. She went on to work for U.S. Rep. John Conyers of Michigan. After Raymond’s death, she co-founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development. She also co-authored four books—”Rosa Parks: My Story” (with Jim Haskins), “Quiet Strength” (with Gregory J. Reed), “Dear Mrs. Parks: A Dialogue with Today’s Youth” (with Gregory J. Reed), and “I Am Rosa Parks” (with Jim Haskins).
Hundreds of American institutions paid tribute to this remarkable woman during her lifetime: Mrs. Parks received a number of honorary doctoral degrees, countless plaques, awards and citations, and keys to several cities. Among her honors were the NAACP’s Springarn Medal, the UAW’s Social Justice Award, the Martin Luther King Jr. Non-Violent Peace Prize, the Roger Joseph Prize from Hebrew Union College, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Rosa Parks proved the power of the individual to change the world with a single act of defiance.
“I am leaving this legacy to all of you … to bring peace, justice, equality, love and a fulfillment of what our lives should be. Without vision, the people will perish, and without courage and inspiration, dreams will die — the dream of freedom and peace.”
May she rest in peace.