Rosa Louise (Mc Cauley) Parks

NAME Rosa Parks BIRTH DATE February 4, 1913 DEATH DATE October 24, 2005 DID YOU KNOW? Before Rosa Parks, there were a number of others who resisted bus segregation and filed suit. DID YOU KNOW? After her famous act, Parks lost her job and endured death threats for years to come. DID YOU KNOW? Upon Parks' death in 2005, she became the first woman to lie in honor at the Capitol Rotunda. EDUCATION Industrial School for Girls, Alabama State Teachers College for Negroes PLACE OF BIRTH Tuskegee, Alabama PLACE OF DEATH Detroit, Michigan WHO WAS ROSA PARKS? ARREST LIFE AFTER THE BUS BOYCOTT ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND AWARDS CITE THIS PAGE QUOTES 1 of 18 “At the time I was arrested, I had no idea it would turn into this. It was just a day like any other day. The only thing that made it significant was that the masses of the people joined in.” —Rosa Parks Rosa Parks Biography (1913–2005) UPDATED:APR 24, 2020 ORIGINAL:FEB 27, 2018 Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist who refused to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Her defiance sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Its success launched nationwide efforts to end racial segregation of public facilities. Who Was Rosa Parks? Rosa Parks was a civil rights leader whose refusal to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Her bravery led to nationwide efforts to end racial segregation. Parks was awarded the Martin Luther King Jr. Award by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. Early Life and Family Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama. Her parents, James and Leona McCauley, separated when Parks was two. Parks’ mother moved the family to Pine Level, Alabama, to live with her parents, Rose and Sylvester Edwards. Both of Parks' grandparents were formerly enslaved and strong advocates for racial equality; the family lived on the Edwards' farm, where Parks would spend her youth. Parks' childhood brought her early experiences with racial discrimination and activism for racial equality. In one experience, Parks' grandfather stood in front of their house with a shotgun while Ku Klux Klan members marched down the street.