Spotlight on Rosa Parks

What a great caption on the video below, “She sat down to stand up for Civil Rights”. With a simple action, you too can make a difference and maybe change an unjust rule. Below are some engaging resources to help you learn more about this amazing activist!

For great photos and authentic documents check out the Library of Congress Exhibition and learn more about Rosa Parks. The opening description from this exhibit provides a great summary of who Rosa Parks was and the impact she had:

Rosa Parks (1913–2005) is best known for her refusal to give up her seat to a white man on a crowded bus in Montgomery, Alabama, on December 1, 1955. Her arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal event in the civil rights movement that ultimately led to the dismantling of Jim Crow segregation. Rosa Parks became an icon of the movement, celebrated for this single courageous act of civil disobedience, but she is often characterized by misconceptions. Contrary to popular belief, Parks was not a demure seamstress who chose not to stand because she was physically tired. Her calm demeanor hid a militant spirit forged over decades.

The real Rosa Parks was a seasoned activist who organized to free the Scottsboro Boys in the 1930s and helped operate the offices of the NAACP and Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in Montgomery during the 1940s and 1950s. She was punished for the bus incident with death threats, unemployment, and dire poverty, yet was sustained through years of hardship by her strong Christian faith. Parks remained committed to the struggle for social justice and human rights until her death, inspiring millions of people around the world.

To learn more check out these links:

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-milestones

https://www.biography.com/activist/rosa-parks

Visit our Chesterfield museum location to sit on a real bus and contemplate the courage of Rosa Parks and how you might change the world.