Rosa Parks was one of the most influential Civil Rights activists. Segregation was a major issue for many years. Rosa Parks stepped up and set an example for other African Americans to follow. In my essay I will explain who Rosa Parks was, what she did to stand up to segregation, how what she did impacted segregation and how she continued to impact the lives of women and other African Americans long after she was gone. The beginning of racial segregation began long before Rosa Parks. Jim Crow Laws started in 1890. Jim Crow laws were racial segregation laws put in place in the southern United States, at state and local levels. These laws enforced racial segregation in all public facilities. This separation led to conditions for african americans that were far below the standard that was provided for white americans. Public schools, public places, public transportation, restrooms, restaurants, even drinking fountains were segregated. The military was segregated as well. This caused many economic, educational, and social disadvantages. They were finally overruled in 1965 with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Civil Rights act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It …show more content…
Her Parents were separated when she was young. She and her mother went to live with her grandparents, who had both been former slaves. She left school in eleventh grade because she needed to attend to her sick mother and grandmother. In 1932, when Rosa was 19, she married Raymond Parks. He was an active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. With her husbands help she gained her high school degree in 1933. She became actively involved in civil rights issues by joining the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP in 1943. She was also the secretary to NAACP President E.D Nixon until 1957. (A&E Television