“When the history of this country is written, when a final accounting is done, it is this small, quiet woman whose name will be remembered long after the names of senators and presidents have been forgotten. (Freedman, 64)” Growing up in Tuskegee, Alabama during segregated times, Rosa Parks dreamed of freedom and equality for African Americans. To achieve this goal, she knew she would have to apply courage and strength. Rosa Parks’ act of defiance started the Civil Rights movement within the United States. Her works with the Montgomery Bus Boycott, NAACP trials, and her influence on the younger generation have earned her the nickname “Mother of Civil Rights”.
Rosa Louis Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama to James and Leona McCauley. Park’s
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A white man entered the bus after her and the driver ordered Rosa Parks to move as part at the segregation “Jim Crow Laws”. When asked to move the active NAACP member refused and stayed seated in her seat. Parks was arrested for her actions on the bus, but these were the actions that started the Montgomery Bus Boycott which changed civil rights in America forever. On December 5th, African-American residents of the Montgomery refused to use the buses (Haskins, 65). Rosa’s courage gave the citizens the bravery to stand up and fight back against segregation. On that same day, Rosa Parks went to court. When she was found guilty, her lawyer decided to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Parks was bailed out of jail by NAACP president, Edgar Nixon. Parks and Montgomery’s African American citizens continued with the Boycott by walking, biking, and taking cars to destinations instead of buses. With seventy five percent of the bus’s riders being African American, the bus company was forced to cut back on buses and raise its prices (“Rosa Parks.”Answers.com). Finally on November 13, 1956, one year after Rosa’s refusal to give up her seat, the Supreme Court ruled that Montgomery 's segregation laws are unconstitutional (“Montgomery Bus Boycott” www.watson.org). This was a major accomplishment for the civil rights. African Americans were finally starting to receive the rights they deserved. Rosa’s brave choice that day brought together 17,000 people to work together and fight for their