ROSA LOUISE PARKS
Obituary
February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005
 Rosa Louise Parks, a prime mover in changing the
course of American history, sparked the modern civil rights movement in 1955
when she courageously refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama city
bus to a white man when ordered to do so by the bus driver. Her act triggered a
wave of protest that reverberated throughout the United States. A seamstress by
profession, Mrs. Parks was born February 4, 1913 to Leona and James McCauley in
Tuskegee, Alabama. Mrs. Parks passed on October 24, 2005 in Detroit, her home
since 1957.
|
She was active in the civil rights movement
long before her brave act of defiance and was secretary of the
Montgomery Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People. She is often referred to as “the Mother of the Modern
Day Civil Rights Movement.”
She was one of the first women to join the
Montgomery NAACP Branch in 1943. In addition to being the branch
secretary, she was a youth advisor. She holds two life memberships in
the NAACP.
|
Download
Program & Pictures |
 Mrs. Parks’s activism started after she
married Raymond Parks in 1932. The couple volunteered on voter
registration and raised money in defense of the Scottsboro Boys, nine
young African American men pulled off a train, falsely accused and found
guilty of raping two white women in 1931.
Her action nearly 50 years ago captivated
the nation and helped propel a young preacher, Martin Luther King, into
the spotlight after he was drafted to head the Montgomery Improvement
Association that led the boycott. Her act of defiance on December 1,
1955 reflected strength and bravery that belied her calm, dignified
demeanor. For refusing to give up her seat, Mrs. Parks was arrested,
convicted of violating the segregation laws and fined $10, plus $4 in
court fees. Her action occurred at a time when African Americans who
refused to give up their seat on a bus to a white man could not only be
arrested, but even killed.
In 1956, the Parks’s case led to the United
States Supreme Court ruling that segregated public bus service was
unconstitutional.
Following the bus boycott, Mr. and Mrs.
Parks moved to Detroit because of concern for her well-being in the wake
of death threats and the bombing of churches and houses, including those
of Dr. King and E.D. Nixon, president of the Montgomery NAACP Branch and
a close adviser to Mrs. Parks. She became a secretary and receptionist
to U.S. Representative John Conyers (D-Michigan), a position she
continued in until her retirement in 1988. Mrs. Parks received numerous
awards, including the 1979 NAACP Spingarn Medal, which is given for
outstanding achievement by an African American. Other awards include the
Presidential Medal of Freedom (1996) and the Congressional Gold Medal
(1999), and the Martin Luther King Sr. Award. She was inducted into the
Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame in 1983 for her achievements in civil
rights. She received the Rosa Parks Peace Prize in 1994 in Stockholm,
Sweden.
Mrs. Parks attended rural schools until she
was 11-years-old, then Miss White’s School for Girls in Montgomery.
Later she attended high school at the Alabama State Teachers College.
Mrs. Parks’s husband died in 1977. She is
survived by 13 nieces and nephews.
to top of page
|
