Rosa Louise McCauley was born February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama. She was the firstborn child of James & Leona Edwards McCauley. She had a younger brother named, Sylvester, born in 1915. Later on, the family moved to Pine Level, Alabama, where Rosa grew up & received an education at a rural school. When she completed her education in Pine Level, at the age of 11, her mother enrolled her at the Montgomery Industrial School for Girls (Miss White's School for Girls), a private school. Afterwards she went on to attend Alabama State Teacher's College Highschool. However she was unable to finish high school with her class, due to her grandmother, Rose Edwards, falling ill and passing away.
As she was preparing to go back to high school, her mother also fell ill, so Rosa stayed back to look after the home & care for her mother, while her younger brother, Sylvester worked outside of home. She finally received her high school diploma in 1934, two years after she married, Raymond Parks, on December 18, 1932. Raymond, was a barber. He was born in Wedowee, Alabama, on February 12, 1903 & received little formal education due to racial segregation. He was self-educated with the help of his mother, Geri Parks. His impeccable dress and advanced knowledge of national issues & present events, made him appear college-educated to many people. He both supported and encouraged Rosa's completion of a formal education.
Raymond & Rosa worked in the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) programs. He was an active member, while she was first a secretary and later a youth leader of the local branch. The moment that Rosa would forever go down in history for, occurred on December 1, 1955; when she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger upon the orders of bus driver, James F. Blake, after the "white-only" section had been filled. Rosa was promptly arrested.
After her arrest, black people in Montgomery and sympathizers of other races organized & promoted a protest of the city bus system, that lasted just over a year. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was appointed the spokesperson for the Bus Boycott, teaching nonviolence to all participants. Alongside the protests in Montgomery, similar boycotts sprung up all over the US, taking the form of sit, eat & swim-ins, as well as other forms.
In December 1957, Rosa & Raymond moved to Detroit, Michigan, with the help of Rosa's brother, Sylvester. In 1964, she became a deaconess of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). Congressman John Conyers, from the 1st Congressional District of Michigan, employed Rosa Parks from 1965-88. In February 1987, she founded the Rosa & Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development with Elaine Eason-Steele, in memory of her husband, who passed away in 1977. The purpose was to motivate and guide youth not targeted by other programs, to reach their highest potential. Rosa Parks saw the potential of young people as an integral part of change, it was a common theme she discussed whenever she gave speeches at schools, colleges & global organizations.
The RRPISD's program, Pathways to Freedom, traces the underground railroad, into the civil rights movement and beyond. Youth aged 11-17, met with Rosa Parks and other American leaders, as they took part in educational & historical research all over the country. They travelled primarily by bus as "freedom riders" did in the 1960's.
Rosa Parks received more than 40 honorary degrees including one from, Soka University, in Tokyo, Japan; as well as hundreds of plaques, certificates, citations & awards. Including, the NAACP's Spingarn Medal, the UAW's Social Justice Award, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Non – Violent Peace Prize and the ROSA PARKS PEACE PRIZE in 1994, in Stockholm, Sweden. In September 1996, President William J. Clinton, awarded Rosa with the Medal of Honor, the highest award given to a civilian citizen.
The Rosa & Raymond Institute & the Rosa Parks Legacy, immortalize her legacy of goodwill. In 1997, it was declared that the Monday after February 4th, is Rosa Parks Day; she was the first living person to be honored by a holiday. She was voted by Times magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century. A museum & library were built on the site where she was arrested on December 1, 1955, in Montgomery & opened in the fall of 2000. On September 26, 1998, Rosa was the first recipient of the International Freedom Conductor's Award by the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Rosa Parks passed away on October 26, 2005, at the age of 92. She is remembered as a quiet personification of courage, dignity & determination & a symbol of freedom.
Rosa Parks wrote four books: Rosa Parks: My Story, with Jim Haskins, Quiet Strength with Gregory J. Reed, Dear Mrs. Parks: A Dialogue With Today's Youth with Gregory J, Reed, this book received the NAACP's Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work (Children's), in 1996 and her latest book, I AM ROSA PARKS, with Jim Haskins, for preschoolers.
http://www.rosaparks.org/biography/
YOU ARE READING
We Won't Stay Silent
Saggistica"We need women who are so strong they can be gentle, so educated they can be humble, so fierce they can be compassionate, so passionate they can be rational and so disciplined they can be free" ...
