"I would like to be known as a person who is concerned about freedom
and equality and justice and prosperity for all people" -- Rosa Parks
Rosa
Louise Parks is nationally recognized as the “mother of the modern day civil
rights movement” in America.Her
refusal to surrender her seat to a white male passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama
bus, December 1, 1955, triggered a wave of protest December 5, 1955, that
reverberated throughout the United States.Her quiet courageous act changed America, its view of black
people and redirected the course of history.
Mrs.
Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley, February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama.She was the first child of James and Leona Edwards McCauley.Her brother, Sylvester McCauley, now deceased, was born August 20, 1915.Later, the family moved to Pine Level, Alabama where Rosa was reared and
educated in the rural school.When
she completed her education in Pine Level at age eleven, her mother, Leona,
enrolled her in Montgomery Industrial School for Girls (Miss White’s School
for Girls), a private institution.After
finishing Miss White’s School, she went on to Alabama State Teacher’s
College High School.She, however,
was unable to graduate with her class, because of the illness of her grandmother
Rose Edwards and later her death.
As
Rosa prepared to return to Alabama State Teacher’s College, her mother also
became ill, therefore, she continued to take care of their home and care for her
mother while her brother, Sylvester, worked outside of the home.Rosa received here high school diploma in 1934, after her marriage to
Raymond Parks, December 18, 1932.Raymond,
now deceased, was born in Wedowee, Alabama, Randolph County, February 12, 1903,
received little formal education due to racial segregation.He was a self-educated person with the assistance of his mother, Geri
Parks.His immaculate dress and his
thorough knowledge of domestic affairs and current events made most think he was
college educated.He supported and
encouraged Rosa’s desire to complete her formal education.
Mr.
Parks was an early activist in the effort to free the “Scottsboro Boys,” a
celebrated case in the 1930’s.Together,
Raymond and Rosa worked in the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP’s) programs.He
was an active member and she served as secretary and later youth leader of the
local branch.At the time of her
arrest, she was preparing for a major youth conference.
After
the arrest of Rosa Parks, black people of Montgomery and sympathizers of other
races organized and promoted a boycott of the city bus line that lasted 381
days.Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
was appointed the spokesperson for the Bus Boycott and taught nonviolence to all
participants.Contingent with the
protest in Montgomery, others took shape throughout the south and the country.They took form as sit-ins, eat-ins, swim-ins, and similar causes.Thousands of courageous people joined the “protest” to demand equal
rights for all people.
Mrs.
Parks moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1957.In
1964 she became a deaconess in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME).
Mrs.
Parks was employed by Congressman John Conyers First Congressional District of
Michigan, from 1965 to 1988.In
February 1987, she co-founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self
Development with Ms. Elaine Eason Steele in honor of her husband, Raymond
(1903-1977).The purpose is to
motivate and direct youth not targeted by other programs to achieve their
highest potential.Rosa Parks sees
the energy of young people as a real force for change.It is among her most treasured themes of human priorities as she speaks
to young people of all ages at schools, colleges, and national organizations
around the world.
The
Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development’s “Pathways to Freedom
program, traces the underground railroad into the civil rights movement and
beyond.Youth, ages 11 through 17,
meet and talk with Mrs. Parks and other national leaders as they participate in
educational and historical research throughout the world.They journey primarily by bus as “freedom riders” did in the
1960’s, the theme:“Where Have
We Been?Where are We Going?”
As
a role model for youth she is stimulated by their enthusiasm to learn as much
about her life as possible.A
modest person, she always encourages them to research the lives of other
contributors to world peace.The
Institute and The Rosa Parks Legacy are her legacies to people of good will.
Mrs.
Parks has received more than forty-three honorary doctorate degrees, including
one from SOKA UNIVERSITY, Tokyo Japan, hundreds of plaques, certificates,
citations, awards and keys to many cities.Among them are 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, Stockholm Sweden, to name a few.In September 1996 President William J. Clinton, the
forty-second President of the United States of America gave Mrs. Parks the MEDAL
OF FREEDOM, the highest award given to a civilian citizen.
Published
Act no.28 of 1997 designated the first Monday following February 4, as Mrs. Rosa
Parks’ Day in the state of Michigan, her home state.She is the first living person to be honored with a holiday.
She
was voted by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th
century.A museum and library is
being built in her honor, in Montgomery, Alabama and will open in the fall of
the year 2000 (groundbreaking April 12, 1998).On September 2, 1998 The Rosa L. Parks Learning Center was dedicated at
Botsford Commons, a senior community in Michigan.Through the use of computer technology, youth will mentor
seniors on the use of computers.(Mrs.
Parks was a member of the first graduating class on November 24, 1998.)On September 26, 1998 Mrs. Parks was the recipient of the first
International Freedom Conductor’s Award by the National Underground Railroad
Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.She
attended her first “State of the Union Address” in January 1999.Mrs. Parks received a unanimous bipartisan standing ovati9on when
President William Jefferson Clinton acknowledged her.Representative Julia Carson of Indianapolis, Indiana introduced H.R. Bill
573 on February 4, 1999, which would award Mrs. Rosa Parks the Congressional
Gold Medal of Honor if it passed the House of Representatives and the Senate by
a majority.The bill was passed
unanimously in the Senate on April 19, and with one dissenting vote in the House
of Representatives on April 20.It
was signed into law by President Clinton on May 3, 1999.Mrs. Parks is only one of 250 individuals including the American Red
Cross to receive this honor.President
George Washington was the first to receive the Congressional Gold Medal of
Honor.President Nelson Mandela is
also listed among the select few of world leaders who has received the medal.Mrs. Parks received the NAACP Image Award for Best Supporting Actress in
the Television Series, TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL, “Black Like Monica”.
Mrs.
Parks has written four books, Rosa Parks:My Story by Rosa Parks with Jim Haskins, Quite
Strength by Rosa Parks with Gregory J. Reed, Dear Mrs. Parks:A Dialogue with Today’s Youth by Rosa Parks 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
by Rosa Parks with Jim Haskins, for preschoolers.
A
quite exemplification of courage, dignity, and determination; Rosa Parks is a
symbol to all Americans to remain free.
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by
the Rosa and Raymond Parks
Institute for Self Development - published with permission
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