Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks

Single acts of unique individuals have changed the history of the world in many ways. Rosa Parks is one such individual whose contributions realty revolutionized human society and shaped new thinking on racial equality in the US and all over the world. Park’s refusal to leave a seat for a white passenger, her subsequent arrest, and the protest that ensured birthed the civil rights movement.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa parks displayed an act of courage and disobedience by refusing to leave a bus seat for a white passenger. At the time, the first four seats in public transport buses were reserved for white passengers. Black people were expected to leave their seats for any white passenger in the event that the reserved seats were occupied (Brinkley and Karen 109). Rosa Parks refused to give up her place, arguing that she was not obligated to do so. She was arrested and taken to Montgomery prison in Alabama. Protests soon erupted, challenging her arrest.

After her release, she was determined to end the humiliation the blacks suffered while using public transport. She cooperated with the National Association for the Advancements of Colored People’s president Edgar Nixon to start a bus boycott. The boycott lasted for 381 days, only ending after the US Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in the public transport system was unconstitutional in 1956 (Brinkley and Karen 109). Due to her efforts, Rosa Parks is considered the “mother of the civil rights movement”. Her brevity inspired many civil rights activists, including Martin Lurther Jr., who joined the Montgomery Bus Boycott (Dunlap 78).

To sum up, great men and women have risen to challenge the status quo and change various facets of life. Rosa Parks demonstrated an act of courage that sparked the civil rights movement. Her efforts alongside other civil rights activists saw the outlawing of racial segregation in the public transport system. Rosa’s contribution to social equality makes her an outstanding individual in history.