Rosa Parks was arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, as was required by law for black people at the time. Her act of defiance sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a 381-day boycott of the bus system organized by Martin Luther King Jr. that ultimately led the city to desegregate public buses. Rosa Parks' courageous resistance to racial discrimination played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement.
2. Although slavery had been
abolished in America, there
were still laws that would
segregate white people from
black ones. There were separate
sections in cinemas, theatres,
schools, armed forces,
transportation and others for
white and colored people.
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6. Rosa Parks, a seamstress got into a bus to get
to her home after a long tiring day. She took
a seat in the rear of the bus as, according to
the law, black people had to sit in the rear of
the bus. Three stops later, three white men
entered the bus and there were no seats
available for them. According to the law, the
black passengers should give their seats to
the white men. Everybody did so…apart from
Rosa Parks.
7. Then the driver stopped the
bus, came and asked her to
stand up and give her seat to
the white man. Rosa Parks
refused. Then, the driver
threatened to call the police.
Rosa Parks refused again. The
driver got off the bus, called
the police and Rosa Park got
arrested for breaking the law of
racial separation.
8. Four days later, on December 4th, Rosa parks was
found guilty and paid the fine of 14 dollars. That
day all African-American people decided to boycott
the buses. Although it was raining, no black man got
into a bus. Some even walked 32 kilometres.
That day Martin Luther King delivered one of his
first speeches, which would make him a historical
figure. He said: “We are here today because we are
tired of segregation, humiliation, oppression and
intimidation” He also asked black people not to use
violenece against white people.
9. The boycott lasted 381 day and devastated the bus
business. 75% of the passengers were black people
and found other ways to go to their jobs. . It ended
on December 21, 1956, when the city announced
that it would end the bus segregation.
10. The next day Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King got
into a bus and sat on the front seat next to the bus
driver.
11. Us president Barrack
Obama sits on the same
bus seat where Rosa Park
was arrested.
The bus where Rosa
Parks got arrested is on
display at the Henry
Ford museum.
