Remembering Rosa Parks: 10 reasons why we call her the Mother of the Freedom Movement
You've probably heard of Human Rights and Civil liberties campaigner Rosa Parks — the original Bus Lady of Alabama — but do you know how much she stood up for equal rights for African-American people at a time when even the law was against them? Check out the reason why Rosa Parks is still an inspiration to Human Rights activists across the world to this very day
On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Instead of going to the back of the bus, which was designated for African Americans, she sat in the front
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 rights
Parks' 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 1956
As secretary of the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, Parks would travel throughout Alabama, speaking with victims of discrimination and those who had seen lynchings
Not 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 laws
She completed high school at a time when less than 7% of African Americans were earning high school diplomas
Following 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
