When the bus started to fill up with white passengers, the bus driver asked Parks to move. She refused. Her resistance and arrest set in motion one of the largest social movements in history
Despite reports that Parks had not left her seat because she was tired, she later clarified that she was just 'tired of giving in'The United States Congress has even called her 'the first lady of civil rights' and 'the mother of the freedom movement'Both of Rosa Parks' grandparents were former slaves and strong advocates for racial equality. This greatly inspired her to work for black rightsParks' fight for equal rights for African Americans didn’t start with her fateful arrest. In 1943, she joined the Montgomery, Alabama chapter of the NAACP and served as its secretary until 1956As secretary of the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, Parks would travel throughout Alabama, speaking with victims of discrimination and those who had seen lynchingsNot long after her historic arrest in 1955, Parks got into trouble with the law again on February 22, 1956. This time, she was arrested with 100 fellow protesters for breaking segregation lawsShe completed high school at a time when less than 7% of African Americans were earning high school diplomasFollowing her death in 2005, Parks was lain to rest in state under the Capitol rotunda. Parks remains the only woman and one of just four private citizens to receive the honour