Rosa Parks

Definition

Rosa Parks was an African American civil rights activist whose refusal to give up her seat on a segregated bus to a white passenger sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal event in the American civil rights movement. Her courageous act of defiance challenged the Jim Crow laws that enforced racial segregation in the South.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus to a white passenger on December 1, 1955 was a pivotal moment that sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
2. The Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted 381 days and was a successful non-violent protest that ultimately led to the desegregation of the Montgomery bus system.
3. Rosa Parks' act of civil disobedience was not her first encounter with racial discrimination on the buses, but it was the one that galvanized the civil rights movement.
4. Rosa Parks was not the first person to refuse to give up her seat on a segregated bus, but her arrest and the subsequent boycott made her an iconic figure of the civil rights movement.
5. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a significant victory for the civil rights movement, demonstrating the power of non-violent protest and laying the groundwork for future successes.

Review Questions

• Explain how Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, contributed to the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the broader civil rights movement.
  • Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, on December 1, 1955 was a pivotal moment that sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a 13-month protest against racial segregation on the city's bus system. Her courageous act of civil disobedience challenged the Jim Crow laws that enforced racial segregation in the South and galvanized the African American community to take action. The successful boycott, led by Martin Luther King Jr., demonstrated the power of non-violent protest and laid the groundwork for future victories in the civil rights movement, such as the desegregation of public facilities and the passing of landmark civil rights legislation.
• Describe the significance of Rosa Parks' actions in the context of the broader African American struggle for civil rights in the 20th century.
  • Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat on a segregated bus was a powerful symbol of the African American struggle for civil rights in the 20th century. Her act of defiance challenged the Jim Crow laws that enforced racial segregation and discrimination, which had been a major barrier to equality for African Americans since the end of Reconstruction. The Montgomery Bus Boycott that followed Parks' arrest was a seminal event in the civil rights movement, demonstrating the effectiveness of non-violent protest and galvanizing the broader African American community to demand their constitutional rights. Parks' actions, along with the work of other civil rights leaders and activists, ultimately contributed to the passage of landmark civil rights legislation, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which outlawed discrimination and secured voting rights for African Americans.
• Analyze how Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, represented a significant turning point in the African American struggle for civil rights and the eventual dismantling of the Jim Crow system.
  • Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, on December 1, 1955 represented a pivotal moment in the African American struggle for civil rights. Her act of civil disobedience challenged the Jim Crow laws that had enforced racial segregation and discrimination in the South for decades, and it sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a 13-month protest that ultimately led to the desegregation of the city's bus system. The success of the boycott, led by Martin Luther King Jr., demonstrated the power of non-violent resistance and galvanized the broader civil rights movement. Parks' actions, along with the work of other activists, helped to build momentum for the passage of landmark civil rights legislation, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which outlawed discrimination and secured voting rights for African Americans. In this way, Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat on that fateful day in Montgomery represented a significant turning point in the dismantling of the Jim Crow system and the advancement of the African American struggle for equality and justice.

Related terms

Montgomery Bus Boycott: A 13-month protest against racial segregation on the buses of Montgomery, Alabama, led by Martin Luther King Jr. after Rosa Parks' arrest, which ultimately led to the desegregation of the city's bus system.

Jim Crow Laws: State and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States after the end of Reconstruction until the 1960s.

Civil Rights Movement: A struggle by African Americans in the mid-20th century to achieve civil rights equal to those of whites, including equal access to public facilities, housing, and the right to vote.