How Did Rosa Parks Contribute To The Civil Rights Movement

Rosa Parks was an American civil rights activist who is most remembered for her part in the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. On December 1st 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. Parks ignored the bus driver James F Blake's orders to move from a row of seats in the ‘coloured’ section to white passengers who had no seats because the other ‘white sections’ were filled. This act of bravery by Parks sparked the 13-month Montgomery bus boycott and a landmark event in the civil rights movement that led to the desegregation of public transportation. Parks was not the first person to refuse to give up their seat on the bus, but her actions resonated greatly with the black community.

Parks was the only daughter of parents James and Leona McCauley. She had one younger brother named Sylvester. Rosa spent most of her childhood ill with chronic tonsillitis. Shortly after Sylvester was born, Rosa's parents separated. Abandoned by their father, Rosa and her brother moved in with their mother to live on the grandparents' farm outside Montgomery. For most of her childhood, Rosa was taught by her mother at home, who was also a primary school teacher at a nearby school. Rosa often helped with chores around the house and learned how to cook food and sew to save money instead of going to the shops. Rosa's grandfather would often stay up at night with a rifle in hand, waiting for white men to come. Because of this, their house windows and doors were boarded shut. On nights that were considered dangerous, the children would have to go to bed with their shoes on so they could easily escape the house if needed. Sometimes Rosa would choose to stay awake to keep watch on her

When the bus driver demanded Parks give up her seat to the white passenger she refused and said “No I will not”. Her action was a carefully considered decision to take a stand against injustice and segregation. She was aware of the consequences that could occur, but still felt the push to challenge the system. Following her bravery, Parks faced significant consequences. Parks was arrested on December 1st 1955 and bailed out by E.D. Nixon at about 9:30 p.m. that night. Parks also lost her job as a seamstress and faced many death threats and harassment from white individuals. However, the outcome was the Montgomery bus boycott, which was a 13-month protest organised by civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. This boycott changed the Montgomery bus system financially and led to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses was unlawful in 1956. Ultimately, this helped inspire many black individuals and promoted protest that would take apart the discrimination across